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sarshles-cheescake-li · 2 months

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The Chen Xiao dive makes my head hurt

This post was originally going to be about different hypotheticals as to how Cheng Xiaoshi's possessees feel after the fact. It was great! I had a nice little three-items list, a brief text-to-world connection about dissociation, and a solid two jokes in there. But then I got sucked into the problem called The Chen Xiao dive, and then it was over. So… let's get this started.

Chen Xiao's dive introduces two major pieces of evidence to us, which each support two different models of how Cheng Xiaoshi's possessions work. One supports the theory that the people he possesses don't remember the experience; the other one supports that they do. Let's start with the one that doesn't involve time paradoxes.

During episode five's ending, we see that Chen Xiao has a ring on during the train scene, and also a child to whom he sings the same lullaby as his mother does. If we go back to episode three, when he was approaching Qiao Ling, we notice that he didn't have the ring on, in either the close-up of his left hand or any of the wide shots, whereas in episode five he had it on in both. This, combined with the framing, heavily implies that the dive Cheng Xiaoshi performed granted him enough closure to get married, have a child, the whole nine yards. Now, since Cheng Xiaoshi's actions only really influenced his memories, we can conclude that Chen Xiao remembers everything that Cheng Xiaoshi said to the dead, proving that Cheng Xiaoshi's possesses remember the experience afterwards.

On the other hand, Chen Xiao's dive is unique in that the memories of the dive nullify itself. Let's call Cheng Xiaoshi's dive point A, and the day of the earthquake -- exactly the way it had gone without Cheng Xiaoshi's influence -- point B. Point A is caused by Chen Xiao seeking out the protagonists' services. He does so because of point B, which left a lot of regrets for him. But the moment point A occurs and Cheng Xiaoshi dives, point B no longer exists, because Cheng Xiaoshi has replaced it with his own version of events. But since point A only occurred because of point B, that means point A doesn't occur, so point B occurs, but then point A does occur… etcetera etcetera. Essentially, Chen Xiao can't both remember the day as Cheng Xiaoshi modified it and seeked him out to change the past; it's one or the other. If this paradox looks familiar, it's a version of the grandfather paradox.

This then presents a problem. The ring says that the dive must've changed Chen Xiao's life substantially enough that he spawned a whole child into existence. The concept of causality says that the dive must not have changed it enough to affect his decision to seek out Cheng Xiaoshi (or, more accurately, Qiao Ling). So he both remembers and doesn't remember the dive. That's wild, man.

So the simple solution to this is that the production team didn't think that hard about how possessions affect the clients' memories, or about time paradoxes, for that matter. I kind of doubt this one, just because of how… metaphysically rigorous Chinese media can get. Like, do y'all know how many times I've been randomly hit with a complex. internally consistent, metaphysical model of sentience or time or whatever while consuming Chinese media? A weird amount.

So we're going to assume either case, and try to find solutions to the paradox in either situation. The first assumption (because it's easier) is that we're going to assume Chen Xiao didn't keep Cheng Xiaoshi's memories, and still remembered the original day. Solutions include:

He wasn't wearing the ring when he approached Qiao Ling for whatever reason. We only see him wear the ring while he's in his own apartment and with his own child, and in all other cases post-dive his left hand is either covered or way too small to tell. So it's possible he wears his ring somewhere else -- like on his neck -- when he's out.

The dive changed something about his life which caused him to meet his fiancé. For example, Lu Guang says that in the original timeline, he had been at a noodles restaurant when the earthquake happened. Assuming Lu Guang wasn't lying, maybe being in his own house when it collapsed caused him to meet different people once rescued, and one of them was his fiancé.

Although Cheng Xiaoshi's memories didn't transfer, having Cheng Xiaoshi tank the day's trauma and also grant him some closure might've changed the way Chen Xiao was able to cope after the fact. Even if he still remembered the original day, the emotional shock might've been dampened enough to allow him to move on a bit more.

Production staff genuinely just forgot to animate the ring during episode three (I hope this isn't the case, because then this post would be embarrassing)

I'm leaning towards the third option, just because as a (hobbyist) writer, it makes the most sense to me. This is especially since it seems the show goes out of its way to demonstrate that the dive changed his life. So the lack of a ring during the opener wasn't a coincidence. With that in mind, unless it's a red herring, it wouldn't make sense to go with option 1. Option 2, though, remains fairly open.

Next, we'll assume the second case, that Chen Xiao did keep the memories of the dive. This one requires a lot more time-stuff, and it heavily depends on how Link Click handles its time travel.

Option 1: Photos themselves contain timelines, and Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang Don't Play By The Rules

The Chinese character introduction sheets refer to Cheng Xiaoshi diving not "into the past" but "into the world of photos". As far as I see, the English translation is less explicit but also refers to him "dive back into photos" and not "dive back in time through photos." This is… a fascinating way to phrase things. This implies the photos themselves have something to do with the past, beyond merely being an access point for Cheng Xiaoshi. Maybe, in cases like Chen Xiao's, where Cheng Xiaoshi dives back and technically causes the dive to not occur, there's no need for it to occur "again" in this new version of events -- the photo "has already" been changed, and contains the information to change Chen Xiao's life. This also makes sense with Cheng Xiaoshi's power's limitations -- once he's rewritten the world inside of a photo once, he can't do it again.

As for Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, we can already assume that, whenever their dives change something about their past -- like with Xu Shanshan, or Cheng Xiaoshi's dive into Lu Guang in season two -- they both remember the "original timeline" instead of the modified one. That's generally a given with time travel stories. In this hypothetical, then, Cheng Xiaoshi's dive does cause his dive to not occur. However, both him and Lu Guang still remember the request and remember performing it, since it was part of the original timeline. And since the change is stored in the photo, Chen Xiao's life is permanently altered despite the dive now "not occurring."

This is my favourite theory, because it is supported (or, at least, not contradicted) by two details from the show. One is when Lu Guang hands Cheng Xiaoshi the photo to dive into it, Cheng Xiaoshi remarks "hey, isn't this the photo that I developed a few days ago?" This seemed weird at the time, but it establishes something: that Chen Xiao had already visited the studio, even without the intention to request for a dive (assuming that wasn't part of the "research" he was doing on if the witch was real). This makes it so that when Chen Xiao comes back later to develop the old photos in the camera, it's not strange that he chose this studio in particular. He did already come here once, after all.

Second is when Lu Guang informs Qiao Ling that they won't be doing any more requests for a while. She says: (I'm going to use my own translation here, because I think the English translation doesn't get some of the implications across）

Qiao Ling: “What are you doing? You're quitting just like that?" (implication: quitting casually and without cause. The direct translation is literally "you say you're quitting, so you're quitting") Lu Guang: "We just want to rest. The normal operations of the photo studio will continue." Qiao Ling: "Cheng Xiaoshi. You also want this?" [awkward head tilt] Qiao Ling: "Ah, fine. We'll start again whenever you're adjusted."

Qiao Ling acts a little weird here. If I were her, and my surrogate little brother and his partner suddenly stopped wanting to fulfilling commisions, right after finishing a commission, I'd probably assume they wanted to stop because of something to do with the last commission. This isn't me hating on Qiao Ling, either. It's that her behaviour makes a bit more sense if we assume that, from her perspective, Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi just came up to her one day and went "we're not doing this anymore" out of nowhere. This supports the idea that to everyone else, the dive might as well have never happened -- only Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi remember it. Side note, tying the dive to the photo itself also works well with Lu Guang making sure the photo wasn't destroyed during the Xixi dive. I think that this is the most plausible theory, and the next two are more interesting hypotheticals than possible theories, so feel free to skip them.

Option 2: Dives are simply incapable of cancelling themselves out.

There's a few ways this can be achieved. One is that if a dive changes the past sufficiently enough to cancel out the original reason that led to it occurring, some sort of time-maintaining… thing gives it a new reason to happen. For example, maybe the version of Chen Xiao that remembered Cheng Xiaoshi's dive approached him to get him to try to save his mother, or not bother his crush's family, or something. This is somewhat conflicted by the fact that Lu Guang made an effort to make Cheng Xiaoshi pick up the photo during his dive into Li Tianxi -- one would think that, even if he hadn't, it'd be fairly easy for the timeline to go "heehee hoohoo Qian Jin picked it up later" or something like that. But -- no! Cheng Xiaoshi had to go pick it up! Lu Guang does say "If the photo is gone," though, so you could say that maybe the father would've destroyed the photo if Cheng Xiaoshi hadn't picked it up.

Overall, this theory is interesting and makes sense from the universe's perspective. Like, if I were a universe, I would preferably not give some random dude a power that could totally break causality and cause me to collapse. That seems a bit… excessive. However, while this works for niche cases, it really doesn't work for the more general possibilities of Cheng Xiaoshi's power. It just seems way too contrived, and require more and more contrivances the more you go through layers of dives and justifications. Because then Chen Xiao basically always needs a reason for Cheng Xiaoshi to dive, no matter how the day had went in the first place. It also would change what exactly Cheng Xiaoshi dives for, which is, again, messy…

Option 3: Causality has low RAM. This one really lays it on thick with time-physics, so, be warned.

Let's sit through a hypothetical together. You and I are gods. There is a switch with an on and an off state between us. I am the god of the Switch Being On. You are the god of the Switch Being Off. If the switch is On, you turn it off, but then I turn it back on. Then you turn it off. I turn it on. Ad nauseam towards infinity. My action causes your action, nullifying my own; your action causes my action, nullifying your own. Neither of us can be satisfied at the same time, so we keep on going back and forth, forcing the switch between these two states -- on, off -- forever.

Back to the time travel Donghuas featuring doomed men. Think of the timeline's two states as "Cheng Xiaoshi dives" and "Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't dive." The Gods pushing it back and forth between these two states are causality and… causality again. Except -- this is where the low RAM bit comes in -- causality isn't instantaneous.

Many of us are familiar with the concept of time being an extra dimension that we move through. But what if there was a fifth? What if time itself had time? If we treat a timeline as the same as any other simple object, we can think of the concept of causality, some force which makes it such that the timeline's events have logical order to them, as just like any other process: the melting of ice; the wilting of leaves; the erosion of rock. If this is the case, it's possible to have a paradox like this one. Below is a diagram:

Let state 1 represent the "original" timeline where Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't dive, and state 2 represent the one where he does. The black line represents the time that Cheng Xiaoshi dives at, and the "beginning" of the timeline represents the day of the earthquake. The end of the timeline goes into infinity We can see the changed version of events propagating through the timeline via causality. But the moment* it hits the black line -- Cheng Xiaoshi's dive -- it immediately changes the starting point of the timeline, which starts also propagating at (presumably the same) speed.

*"The moment" here referring to some point in fifth-dimensional time.

So then the timeline, or to be precise, the version of the timeline the protagonists exist in (as of episode five, season one) would be anywhere in between the fifth and the ninth timeline on this diagram. And depending on whether or not you assume there to be higher dimensions past the fifth, the laws of causality in those dimensions, how you assume memory to work -- and how the memories of time travelers work -- this model can… do a lot. In terms of plausibility, I'd rank it the lowest, just because it's functionally a truncated version of my personal pet theory of time (if versions of it exist in other media, I've never seen them), so it's pretty unlikely Link Click follows it. Also, the extended version of this theory does imply things which aren't evident in Link Click. So.

These are all the theories I'm gonna cover. If we get into all the different models of time and the likes, we'll be here for something like another couple thousand words. There are just some loose ends I want to wrap up:

Emma questions Cheng Xiaoshi if "you were the one who sent that text" (paraphrased because I don't want to go back to the episode to check phrasing), suggesting that she doesn't remember getting possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi. It supports the first assumption, that possessees don't remember what happened during the posession, and remember the original timeline. If possessees do remember the original timeline, it's possible that they might still feel somewhat dissociated from those memories, which may lead to them coming to the conclusion that someone else was in their body at the time, like Emma does.

Lu Guang makes a big deal of not changing the timeline when they dive. Assuming the universe hates time paradoxes, and doesn't allow them to exist, this could be him worried about the butterfly effect or, as he says, rendering their present future nonexistent. If the universe generally copes fine with time paradoxes, this could be him worried about the effects of "playing god" in a sense of the word, or about affecting the timeline in unpredictable and potentially negative ways.

#link click #link click spoilers #link click theory #sgdlr #shiguang daili ren #long post

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illuminatedjoy · 6 days

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Ace!Culprit Theory

I'm writing this on Thursday the 19th and I'd like to get it out before episode 14 arrives and shifts the case more. During my recent rewatch of chapter 2, I started to think Ace is the culprit, and the two newest episodes have further convinced me and helped me understand how it happened.

First, touching on the murder attempt in the gym. Back when Chapter 2 part 1 came out, I considered the possibility that Nico didn't try to kill Ace, and he actually attempted suicide. The trial shot that theory down fast when Nico confessed they did in fact attempt to kill Ace.

Or, did it? I think what happened was that Ace tried to hang himself, but the fan collapsed, drawing Nico to the gym. They would have been feeding the fish around that time. Nico saw him unconscious and unguarded, and tried to finish him off by cutting his throat with the wire. This was an attack of opportunity for Nico. Whether they truly meant to follow through on their initial threat or not, they were willing to go through with it when Ace was right in front of them.

Now, there are two pieces of evidence I need to address here, the turpentine and the wire. If Rose didn't notice Nico stealing the turpentine, she just as easily might have not noticed Ace steal it, so that's easy. Ace could have dosed himself with turpentine to pass out during the attempt and avoid pain. But the wire...

I previously thought, as many people did, that Hu gave Nico the wire and encouraged them to kill Ace. She would have either helped them win the trial or betrayed them and allowed Nico to be executed. However, I don't think this is consistent with Hu's actions in the trial.

I'm not saying she can't be a culprit later on, but I don't think she's lying about how she feels here. Therefore, trying to kill everyone to save Nico makes no sense, and throwing Nico under the bus makes no sense because of how she usually treats them. I also don't think Nico would have known about the mechanics of hanging if Hu wasn't helping them.

So, how'd the wire get to the gym? The same way the rope got to the playground: the culprit took it out of storage. We now know that Hu has struggled with suicidal tendencies most of her life. Speaking as someone who struggles with the same thing, I do not like to keep things in my home I could easily kill myself with if I can help it. It's not worth the risk. I think Hu put her wire in storage for her own peace of mind, perhaps after learning that Arei got rid of her rope. Ace took it for his suicide attempt because he thought it would be sturdier than the rope.

One more thing about Ace attempting suicide is this line. It's what originally made me think it was likely, but I kind of let it slide after Nico admitted to attempted murder.

So, I definitely think Ace has the most solid murder motive out of anyone in the cast. He's already given up on surviving the killing game. He's convinced everyone is out to get him, and he's shut out anyone who might offer him assistance like Levi or Eden. Furthermore, he has no alibi, either at night or in the morning. If he did attempt to hang himself, he likely does know enough about hanging to pull off Arei's murder. (Perhaps his one friend died by hanging? Hmm.) As for the evidence, something people bring up a lot is the grippy tape that disappeared from the gym. This is often used to point at Eden. But, why not Ace, too?

Ace left the gym intent on murder. He may have grabbed anything he thought might be useful. He also might have already had the tape on his person anyway, if he used it in his suicide attempt at all. Eden was thrown out of the gym without warning. I think it's simply much more likely that Ace had it then she had the presence of mind to grab it while everything was going on.

I don't really see any evidence that contradicts Ace!Culprit. There are a few things I don't know how to explain, like the starched up ball of clothes, but a different culprit doesn't explain that any better.

I think this is the most interesting outcome for the story. I'm curious to see how Levi takes it. I think Hu is going to be devastated when she realized her actions contributed to a suicide attempt and eventually a murder. Nico is likely to face some backlash too. If they had helped Ace instead of trying to kill him, it might have changed things.

And it punches a big hole in Teruko's belief that trusting no one is the safest way to survive. Because Ace trusted no one, and it drove him to desperation and murder.

#danganronpa despair time #ace markey #hu jing #nico hakobyan #tw: suicide mention #arei nageishi

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indigovigilance · 10 months

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How to Write Good Omens Meta

Someone left something in my ask box that intrigued me:

My Ask is for insight into the theory of clues and how S2 clues move and build S3. Is there a meta on this? (If not, would you consider it at some point?)

Well, I did consider it, and here’s my first shot at answering this really good question. It's more about the art of writing than of clue analysis, but I may do a second piece in this series, if it feels necessary. Anyway, here we go:

read on Ao3

Learn Something New

People want to read meta to learn something that they didn’t know before. This probably means you will have to learn something that you didn’t know before. Some meta-analysts arrive pre-loaded with a rich background in costuming, tarot, biblical canon, and the wide array of cultural references that appear in the show. We also seem to have a fair number of psychologists (formally trained or otherwise) representing. I (and others: see Chekhov's Contract by @ineffablyruined) happen to have a background in law and so I was able to make a unique contribution via my piece Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop. But for other topics, I have to self-educate.

In my personal opinion, the work on direct canon analysis (that is, watching the show and reporting what you see) has largely been done and I don’t think there will be many more breakthroughs until some people go away and come back with a freshly informed perspective. Personally, I’m waiting for someone to go learn everything there is to know about S.W. Erdnase and tell us what they found, because that is a very specific reference that I haven’t seen fleshed out yet (link it in the reblogs if it already exists!).

Don’t Be Afraid of Outside Sources

For example, quite a few times I’ve gone away to read outside source material before writing a new meta. Good examples are: Honolulu Roast, The Lament of the Metatron, and The Hornet in the Beehive. These are topics where I had no particular advantage over anyone else, I just had a question and decided to keep digging until I had something that looked like an answer.

On choosing a topic: in each of these cases I began with an in-show piece of information that seemed both unambiguous in its directness and yet unexplained. Why is there a mysteriously appearing sign in the coffeeshop that says Honolulu Roast? Who is the Metatron? Why is there so much attention drawn to bees when Crowley goes up to Heaven? If I start with a solid question and then follow an investigative pathway, usually beginning with the Bible given the nature of this show but not always, I’ll usually find something.

There are also some Clues that we’re basically told to investigate. The books on the shelves. The movie playing in the background in The Resurrectionist Pub. These are unambiguous breadcrumbs but they’re a lot of labor. I’m not going to read all those books and watch all those movies. So pick one (1) and go read it, or watch it, and then tell us what you found, so I can read your 1,500 word piece to learn what I need to know about it.

Sometimes you get enough information for a meta just by hanging around long enough and absorbing information. That’s how I put together my pieces on Terry Pratchett’s Death and Crowley’s Dream. The trick in this case is to be able to synthesize it, and for that, the very best way to learn how to do that is read other people’s meta.

Specializing

The asker asked the most important question of all: what’s the balance between trying to manage all the Clues or ignoring them entirely? Well, think of it this way (I’m borrowing an XKCD comic for brevity):

The takeaway here is, when you get a PhD, you become a hyperfocused expert in a very narrow topic and you’re relying on lots and lots and lots of other PhD students becoming highly specialized experts in other topics so that together you are expanding the diameter of human knowledge.

We (meta-analysts) are all getting PhDs in Good Omens, one way or another. Some people are doing their theses in color theory. I am doing mine on the concept of memory and identity permanence (though frequently dabbling in law). Yet others have flung themselves body and soul into the topic of Crowley’s gender and God bless them. Heck, there’s a team of people on Discord who are on any given day ripping the Bentley down to its studs and building it back up again. Feel free to explore while you seek out your passionate topic but don’t feel the need to tackle all of them. You’ll find the one that you fit best in.

You do not have to solve the S3 plot puzzle by yourself. You have to find two pieces, put them together, and then go find a buddy that also has two pieces and see if your pair of pairs makes a quartet. Literally. That’s what we’re doing here guys. It’s a team effort or nothing at all.

Organize your ideas into digestible segments

Great, so you learned something new, you have a tantalizing hypothesis, and you’re ready to write! But what does a good meta look like?

Your abstract (which I recommend you write last) will go at the top, followed by evidence in a logically progressive order that finally culminates in your conclusion. If you’ve ever written a five paragraph essay, you have these tools in your toolbox. And yes, sometimes you will even need to rebut counterarguments (“but Neil said” is the bane of my existence) just like your teacher taught you. But it shouldn’t be formatted like a five-paragraph essay. This is not an 8.5”x11” sheet of paper with 1” margins: this is Tumblr.

Walls of text are great and all but reading handicaps come in all flavors and I for one benefit greatly from having section headers that help me navigate a meta. I’m much less likely to read it if all I have to find my place by is paragraph breaks.

Section headers should tell me what the next paragraph or two are about, and if I read just the section headers, I should have a pretty good idea of what evidence you’re pulling from where and what conclusion you’re going to support with that evidence.

Here’s my opinion on gifs: if I need to see Michael Sheen’s micro-expressions to really understand your point, include it. If I just need a reminder of where we are in the story, or what a costume looks like, a still is fine and less distracting. For a lot of things, though, images are unnecessary. You’ll find the right balance but don’t overburden your written work with images. I think there are quite a few people who only read my work on Ao3 because they simply don’t like the Tumblr, image-centric format.

Have a main takeaway

What does all your evidence point to? It may feel like stating the obvious, but state it anyway. Put a little ribbon on top of this gift you have given to the fandom. Label it. Tell them exactly what your conclusion is from all this information you gathered.

…but don’t feel a need to draw a firm conclusion

In my meta Continuity Errors, I conclude that Crowley stops time in order to move something that was hidden in the bookshop out of the bookshop. I do not speculate on what exactly that something is that he moved. I don’t need to. By leading others down this path, I am tapping the collective resources of the hive mind to think about what exactly was hidden with the bookshop’s protection. They may have some information I don’t because they’ve been looking other places. Not having a hypothesis for this shouldn’t (and didn’t) stop me from publishing my work.

Go back to the top and write your intro/abstract

Have you written your main takeaway? Did you support it with evidence? Good. Now take that and write a 20-30 word elevator pitch that you’re going to put at the top of the meta so that people know what it’s about before they commit to 1,000-2,000 words of being led down the garden path. I have a bad habit of burying the lead, and I’m trying to break it. For a moment people were worrying about putting big revelations below the cut so that we’re not interfering with Neil, but I don’t think Neil has ever seen my work and I doubt he ever will, and at this time my opinion is that playing “hide the lead” is more of a hindrance to the fandom than helpful to protecting the integrity of the IP. So be bold. Tell people exactly where you’re going with this and a short roadmap of how you’re going to get there. You don’t necessarily have to “give away the goods” but the theme should be obvious. An okay-ish example of an abstract is the intro to my first meta. My abstract for Continuity Errors is decidedly more tongue-in-cheek. You'll find your own style.

Cite and Tag

If you read someone’s post and it gave you a great idea, cite them as inspo! It’s a feel-good moment for them and it ties the fandom together. If you’re relying on your own prior work or someone else’s work to support a point, link the piece and tag the author. You will probably want to start copying links to metas that you like into a doc or spreadsheet to make this easier. Check out mine to get an idea of how you could organize a spreadsheet, or check out this doc to see an alternative approach to meta database management.

Speaking of which: @cobragardens, @aprilodite, @drconstellation, @vidavalor, and @irispurpurea, your work appears in this... whatever exactly this is idk.

Recruit a Mentor/beta

Various Tumblrites have published comments or posts that they are willing to beta other people’s work. Reach out to those people before you need them and ask if, whenever you’ve written your next piece, if they wouldn’t mind taking a look at it? Have an upfront discussion about turnaround time. Most of us work, and have other obligations, so it’s unlikely we can look at a thing the minute you send it to us, even if we’re active on Tumblr at that moment. Some people have set days off that they know they’ll have time to curl up with a cup of tea and read the first draft of your meta; you may find that having a weekly schedule with someone pushes you to produce and improve at a pace you wouldn’t achieve under your own steam. Writing is a skill; you get better by practicing and getting constructive feedback.

Anyways, I hope someone finds this helpful: maybe meta-analysis seems like an intimidating thing to get into, but it shouldn’t be! This is a welcoming community with room for all shapes, sizes and flavors of contributions. If you have any follow-up questions about this piece, please feel free to drop them in my ask box!

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #ineffable fandom #writing #on writing #meta on meta

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tiredkershyff · 8 months

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Birds of Feather

DC x TWST

Summary: Tim Drake is a trouble magnet, everyone knew it. Well, it was time for new problems!

on ao3 Chapter 1: I've been feeling lightheaded since I lost enough weight to fit back in my skin Chapter characters: Tim Drake, Grim the Greatest, Dire Crowley Warnings in tags

‎

Ah… My dear beloved,

my noble and beautiful flower of evil,

You are the fairest in the land.

──Mirror, mirror on the wall,

who is the most…

‎

Tim was a bit dizzy, thought tumbling one over each other, trying to make him come to senses. The words, those words were ringing in his head, and they were concerning. What in Snow White was this? Part of him wanted to point at the particular creep known as Ra’s Al Ghul. He would definitely call Tim ‘dearly beloved’. And ‘the flower of evil’? Another speech about ‘come to the dark side, we have cookies’? No, thank you. (God, he is really getting under my skin)

But put away such thoughts, he needed to deal with the situation on hand: WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?

Okay, he was incased in some type of box, the size is just enough to let him a little room to wiggle. It was not a wooden crate for sure, that was obvious from touching it. It was a solid hard material that definitely held some weight in it, smooth and cold to touch, so it was probably some polished stone. It was hard to say what exactly it was, Tim couldn’t see anything, but it might be marble or something similar.

Tim pushed walls, to see which would move, and only the first one responded to his action. For now Tim decided to let it stay closed. He needed to assess the current situation, his state and equipment. It would be stupid to rush right away without giving it at least some thought, it looked like he might have some time for it.

Although he better not to spend too much time. The front lid was heavy enough and didn’t allow any airflow if it was untouched, so the situation with oxygen was a bit difficult. Yeah, Tim could open the lid a little bit, but who knew if it would catch someone’s attention or not. So no sneaking some oxygen inside. So he had some time to think, but the time was not unlimited.

The first question was, why was he here? The second one was where was he? And the third one when was he? His mind was so confused, so who knew for how long he was held there, plus the time-space shenanigans happen so it was always worth considering it.

So, the first one. Why? Tim could remember clatter of hooves, horses neighing, wheels creaking, rolling on the stony road. Those memories were blurry, but he was able to piece it all together. So, it was most likely some type of carriage. That was a bit of an archaic way to kidnap someone. They also keep him in a fancy box, judging by the material. Could it be the Court of Owls? Those assholes are pretentious enough to do this. But still, it was a questionable choice.

Tim examined himself, to find more clues. The wig on his head, the heels on his feet, it already was a give-away that he was in a Caroline Hill disguise (unless they for some reason decided to dress him up like a girl). The texture of the wig was familiar enough to think it was Caroline’s, he spent a hefty amount of money on the new one, so it would look completely genuine and wouldn’t be itchy. Light touches on his face also confirmed the makeup on his face. Small prosthetic chest and hip padding were the final confirmation of his theory. (I’m glad I don’t have those big boobs like first time, those are much better)

That led him to some thoughts about other reasons on why he could be kidnapped. It was less likely that it was because he was TDW or RR. Were they targeting Caroline in particular? Or someone in the medical industry? Or were they targeting women in particular? Tim doubted someone would uncover his disguise and target him because of it.

He also was wearing some type of long attire made out of some smooth material, cold to touch, reminding him of silk. That… led to interesting thoughts. It felt like those were some ceremony robes and he was going to be sacrificed by some cult. Probably just his paranoid mind whispering those ideas. But Tim hated how probable this scenario was. (Or maybe it’s some weird-ass ritual from Ra’s)

He didn’t have his utility belt, not like Caroline had it. He did, however, have some cards in his sleeves. Or, well, birdarang and batarangs. It was hard to actually pull them to properly touch them to understand which properties they had. He didn’t have space to put them back. So he slid just one down in his hand. It was an electric one. (Okay, that’s a good one. I wish I had my disks though)

By the look of it, he would need to adapt on the spot and use his surroundings after all.

Now, to the where question. The probable kidnappers were: Ra’s, Owls, some weird cultists and a percentage for other people (who wanted to have fun, who targeted a specific group, who chose on random, to either kill, torture, sell and a lot of other fun activities). That was… A lot of variables to consider.

Whatever it was, he would need to decide to be RR or CH in this situation.

At least the assessment showed that he didn’t have a concussion or even bruises, which meant they were gentle with him. It excluded some minor options. Or, they beat him to near death and the small amount of Lazarus Waters he had kicked in. Though, it would heal only the immediate fatal injury if he was on a ley-line. And then it would have a cool-down, like it was some fucking game. So, they probably were gentle.

His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside. Someone was trying to open the lid, and obviously struggled with it. So it wasn’t someone who kidnapped him, they would have a way to open it without any trouble. So it was someone unfamiliar with it, and, presumably, weak too. Did they want to help? Or cause harm? In any case, Tim gripped his birdarang a tid bit stronger.

He heard a high-pitched voice talking about people coming soon. So they were a third party. And they were talking about getting a uniform. So they presumably needed Tim’s attire. An interesting choice of voice for this cloak.

Tim decided to open the lid. Judging by the information the person outside said, people were coming soon, and those are definitely his abductors they were talking about. Not good. But it meant right now was the prime chance for an escape, there was only one person outside currently.

And as he did that, the person said that they were going to use their secret move. So when Tim peeked outside, he was met with a circle of blue fire. He hoped it was a trick that made it blue, because actual blue fire was the hottest.

As Tim was readying to use his weapon, he saw who was causing all this ruckus. A cat. A goddamn flying cat. (Was it like Teekl?)

“Kyaaa! Why are you up?! And what a girl is doing here?!” It screeched, it looked scared.

So this gives him some new information. Firstly, apparently he wasn’t supposed to be awake. If he was drugged, that meant his training helped. He wasn’t sure what made him wake up earlier if the cause was different. The second piece of information was the surprise of seeing a girl. So he was less likely to be kidnapped for appearing female. This place was not meant to be for women. If the cat needed a uniform, maybe to blend in or for other personal use in a non-female place, he could be male-presenting.

While doing the mental gymnastics, Tim gave a quick look-over of this place, his theories about it being a cult resurfaced again. The room was dark, not fully lit. The first thing that he noticed were floating coffins with some ornaments and glowing round stones in the middle. The windows had metal ornaments in the best Gotham traditions. And the chandelier was made out of a clutter of chains with glowing purple stones. But what made his breath hitch and his body freeze was the fountain with a green liquid. It was more goo-y and paler in color, but… The place had an incredible Gotham atmosphere and they used to have some pits with Lazarus Waters. Who knew what could’ve happened with them in the shit-hole that Gotham was with her hazardous water. On top of the fountain was a floating mirror.

So it was a cult. It didn’t look like League, they would use different aesthetics. The placement of coffins indicated it was not the Court, they would do it differently. But Gotham had enough cults on its own.

At least he knows the where question. Not fully, but even this was helpful.

The cat was not happy with Tim ignoring Grim the Greatest. (Grim? Like Grim Reaper? Maybe he needs the uniform in hopes of getting into this cult?)

The cat also made a cute attempt to attack him, but Tim easily dodged it, ducking and making a quick escape to one of the exits he noted earlier. The creature was not fast enough to catch up to him, so Tim managed to outran him and discovered himself in the library. He perched on top of one of the bookshelves, the dark cloak worked perfectly with concealing himself in shadows. Plus, this place was poorly lit.

“Uuugh, you, puny human! I will find you and you’re gonna regret crossing the Great Grim!” the cat exclaimed, getting all worked out. (suure)

Tim was spinning the birdarang in his hand, looking over the library, noting the path through the bookshelves and possible exits. The creature was going to set the place ablaze and Tim started thinking about giving him a mild shock, but was interrupted by the sound of a whip, hitting Grim. (Is it hypocritical of me calling it too much? I was going to electrocute him… Yeah, it’s hypocritical. Still going to call it too much and shame this guy at least in my head)

“This is not a mere rope, but the Whip of Love!” the man exclaimed. A man that looked like someone who could pass as one of the Gotham crazies. If he had a PhD then he would definitely count as their Rogue. Really, most of them had PhDs. Bruce forbade them from becoming Doctors so they wouldn’t become part of the Rouge gallery. Jokes on him, Tim already worked with Catwoman when he was a kid, and now was wanted by InterPol. Although, B didn’t appreciate Tim dropping out of the high school and refusing to go back citing the no PhD rule.

Also. (Did he just call it the Whip of Love?! What in the name of BDSM is happening right now?!)

“And you!” the Crow man exclaimed, looking directly at Tim, which made him instantly wary. This immediately placed this bird into a dangerous category for noticing him so easily. “Ah, one of the new students…” he said in a calmer tone.

A student. A fucking student. (THIS IS SCHOOL?!) he screamed in his mind. With that the second thought followed: (He uses this BDSM whip at school???)

So the cat meant school uniform… It was an all-boys school? There were no such schools that looked like that in Gotham. Although the cult theory still worked, some of them worked like that. People wouldn’t immediately realize it’s a cult, and they either realize it when it’s too late or they get brainwashed. Well, he will need to investigate it from the inside. The second time he did that. But… This place had a lot of floating stuff, the cat was obviously magical. And there was a big chance the school either abducted or lured people with magic, and Tim didn’t have an ounce of that. Meaning he would have to pass it on to Zatanna and would help with it in some other way.

“I finally found you. You shouldn’t have left the Gate on your own!” the Crow furry exclaimed. The Gate… Did he mean those coffins? Why Gate though? (Gates to Hell, Gates to Heaven… Some cults love religious themes. Huh, they could actually use religious guilt and promise to ‘cure’ those kids, while binding them to their use)

Again, those were just wild theories that always ran through his mind. Most of them were just theories passing by, with a very low chance of being true. But he was also proved multiple times that even those low probable theories were true. Also, Bernard just amplified this urge to make crazy theories at every moment.

He will roll with the student role right now to learn as much as he could, until the matter of him having no magic will present itself. Then he would see how the situation would unfold to decide how he would have to leave.

Meanwhile the crow man started talking about his familiar breaking rules, how it was so rebellious… Nope, he’s not rolling with this one. Nuh-uh.

This cat would ruin everything with his attitude alone. And, as Tim predicted, Grim immediately protested. Crow ignored him.

“Now, come out,” the man asked him. (I’m bi. Ah, wait, that’s not what he meant)

Tim gracefully landed in front of the staff member, removing the hood to see the reaction on him looking female-presenting.

“A girl? What? Or..?” The Crow was confused.

The ‘or’ indicated on him thinking Tim was trans. But what way? Did they think Tim was a trans guy who either didn’t transition yet or decided to look like that for another reason? That would be progressive. Or did he think Tim was a trans girl, but because he was AMAB he was here? That would be… No. But what about intersexes? Crossdressers? Enbys? Ah, so many questions. “We will deal with it after the ceremony,” Crow shook his head. God. No, it was a 100% cult, Tim will stop thinking otherwise. He didn’t need to hurt his brain even further worrying with thoughts if it was or was not a cult.

Although, it was in a way helpful. Who knows how they would react to him having no magic. Maybe he would cite him being a girl to dip? Part of him wanted to do a Valley Girl accent, but instead decided on a British accent, the strong one like Alfred had. He lived with that man for a few years, he even adopted a few words. Although, it wasn’t like Bruce had it. Half of his vocabulary was British words and he often slipped to that accent when he was tired or didn’t care much. Dick had it to some degree and so did Jason. Though, when tired Dick would slide into a Romani accent and Jason into the Crime Alley talk. Tim, however, would descend into a French accent in most of the cases. When he was a kid he would even use French words from time to time, the result of being raised bilingual (though, there were Korean words from time to time, but not enough to make him trilingual). It was most noticeable when he was way too dizzy, hadn’t slept for days or was under a lot of anesthesia or a lot of pain meds. Fun times.

“I doubt I am a student here, there must be a mistake,” he started. “I don’t even remember how I got here,” he made a bait for an answer. This time the furry guy actually listened to him!

“There’s no mistake! You got here through the Gate, after all. Although, you are quite eager, aren’t you? Leaving the gate before the ceremony… Ah, the ceremony! It probably is well under the way. Let’s head to the Mirror Chamber!” The man was so full of joy. Disgusting. Tim already didn’t like the guy.

They went to the ‘Mirror chamber’, probably that place with coffins, seeing how it had a floating mirror there.

“This little buddy blew the lid off. And I don’t remember going through any ‘Gate’”, Tim huffed.

“Your familiar is your responsibility,” Crow man said and Tim scoffed at it. “And any student who wishes to attend this Academy must go through the Gate’s door,” answered the furry. “Normally the students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key…” he continued. Tim decided to interrupt it.

“Well, then why wasn't mine closed? There was no key-hole too,” Tim noted.

“That’s weird,” the crow man frowned and said it mostly to himself.

Tim’s bird brain immediately went to playing a meme in his head. (That’s weird. That’s suspicious)

“Anyway!” energetically said the staff member. “The open ceremony is about to end. Let’s haste!” ushered the crow.

“I don’t understand where I am, or who you even are!” Tim said in a bit demanding tone. Not a loud one, more on a scolding side. Though, British itself could sound like that no matter what you say if you want to.

"Oh my, are you still dazed? It appears that teleportation magic has left you disoriented," the bird dude, the bird fella, the guy in a mask said.

(Magic. He said the magic 'magic' word. And so I was teleported here, huh)

"Well, it's alright. It happens pretty often!" The staff member explained.

(NO IT'S NOT ALRIGHT YOU MORON)

"I shall explain everything to you. Ahh, my kindness is boundless!" The bird serenaded to himself. (Oh god, he is a broken reflection of those people on Galas, who donate money and praise themselves for it endlessly)

As they went to the courtyard, the bird man continued: “And I am Dire Crowley, the Headmage appointed by the chairman to take care of this place.” (Crowley? Could’ve figured this much. And Dire? Well, that’s certainly the way. He would fit in Gotham so well), "This is Night Raven College, the most prestigious academy of Twisted Wonderland for those who are blessed with a rare aptitude for magic," and whoo bay was it a big can of worms to open.

So he was right about magic, and about them abducting people with it. Because, yeah, magic was still rare, but they made a school for it. That was a front for a cult and didn't even try to hide it. Although, the atmosphere could be mysterious on purpose, to appease kids. Plus, none of the magic users he knew mentioned something like that. And they would, seeing how it looked so Gotham, just to tease about their gothic brand.

And, Twisted Wonderland? What in Lewis Carrol did he mean?

"I don't–" Tim got his confirmation. So it's better to confront that man about Tim having no magic now, instead of in the middle of the ceremony. And of course he was interrupted.

"Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as talented in magic are admitted to the Academy. Those are summoned by Gates which could appear anywhere," the crow man kept feeding him information without any thought.

So, it could appear anywhere. Such an easy way to kidnap. Could spin the story about them being so talented, that they were the 'chosen one' to study here. And why was he transported without his equipment then? Did it just drop right where he was standing before being abducted? That could be bad.

"Anywhere? Then why–" started Tim, only to be interrupted again. A bit more and he was going to go full on Janet Drake on him.

“An Ebony Carriage carrying a Gate should have come meet you”

(Ebony? Ebony Dark'ness Dementia…Focus!)

“I don’t recall such thing,'' managed Tim to say something.

“Huh? Seems like you had a bit of a bad reaction to the transportation…” murmured Crowley more to himself then to him. “Anyway! Let’s go to the entrance ceremony!” (god this man is awkward…)

Grim was trying to say something, but no one cared enough to listen to him.

When they came closer to the ‘chamber’, they heard people talking about Headmage. Huh, looks like students weren’t thinking much about him as well.

But then all looks were on him, as Crowley asked him to go to the mirror. Tim tried to argue, but Crowley really wasn’t listening. That's bad.

“Wait, a girl?”

“What girl is doing here?”

“Maybe that’s…”

“State your name” said the ominous mirror, floating on top of /not/ Lazarus Waters. Tim tried to look as confident as he could. It really was time for Janet Drake.

“Caroline Hill” he said with some dominance in his tone.

“Your real name, boy” (Aw, there goes my cover)

––––

“Wait, what?”

“So… it’s a dude?”

“For real?”

“Since when is the mirror transphobic?”

“It wasn’t before…”

After some pause Tim tsked in the manner some socialists did. Or Damian. It was bad, because explaining later why TDW was here? But it looked like there was nothing he could do, not with all those people around, who all presumably had magic. Too many and he wasn't prepared enough.

“It’s Timothy Drake-Wayne, mirror,” he said, proud of his name.

“Hmm, the shape of your soul… is tarnished and unknown to me”

(Tarnished, you say…)

(sounds about right)

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pixiemage · 1 year

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I'll preface this by saying that I love Monty Gator. He's a HELLA cool character whose presence as an angry puppy dog in Ruin gave me way too much joy, and his boss battle in SB proper was SUPER fun! (I do wish Steel Wool had stuck with the stealing-Monty's-legs plotline rather than his claws, mostly for the sake of consistency but also so the excuse for his leg upgrade could've been so he could do some sick dance moves during shows - but I digress.)

I say this because I'm about to say something some folks might disagree with, but every time I see someone argue that Monty couldn't possibly have decommissioned Bonnie, the arguments they use sometimes make me want to just - throttle people for their lack of logic and their willingness to cling to anything that might help prove their point. There are some really well-thought-out arguments in there too sometimes (Bonnie being decommissioned pre-Monty's-claw-upgrade comes to mind, though I always wonder if the reason that was fucked up was due to the switchover from Monty's legs to his claws, and people assuming his lack of upgraded claws means he couldn't hurt a fellow animatronic without them, even though Moon seems more than capable of ripping apart Staffbots and the Staffbots are capable of wrecking Freddy in the Vanny endings - anyway) and I'm always down to see what alternate concepts folks have come up with! But sometimes - sometimes, not always - when I do watch those Monty-Was-Innocent videos, the folks making them are pulling in proof that feels more like they're grasping at straws, which unfortunately weakens the argument they're trying to make.

The popular one as of late is "the green paint around the claw marks on Bonnie's chest are definitely not from Monty's hands, and it's obviously an older coat of paint that we see because the blue layer was scratched away" which...I mean...good concept in theory, but. No?

Bonnie has never been associated with green. In the Pizzaplex, the Glamrock characters have set color palettes that are associated with their respective brands and merchandise. Bonnie's color set is blue, purple, and red, both in his Glamrock form and his Bonnie Bowl design. In all past games, he's been blue or purple. Even factoring in Springtrap, no version of Bonnie has ever been green, not even as an accent color. So why in the world would Glamrock Bonnie have an undercoat of green paint?

And even if he WAS green at one point, then wouldn't it have shown through in - I don't know - any of the other horribly cracked pieces of his chassis, rather than only being centralized around the claw marks cutting into his chest cavity? Every other crack or bit of damage outside of that chest wound is lined in either black or a darker shade of the surface color, not green. It's an extremely specific design choice on Steel Wool's part and I'm more inclined to believe they designed Bonnie's coloring that way on purpose.

Now don't get me wrong, when someone gives me an actual theory detail where something else left green residue behind, I'll give 'em kudos for thinking outside the box (especially when they're on to something solid). I love when people are able to put together clear puzzle pieces with enough proof to back 'em up. But the "old paint" bit feels so much more like Monty fans grasping for straws and I really wanna see people think harder than that. I want to see something concrete, because I get excited when someone finds something I haven't seen before!

In the Ruin DLC, Steel Wool dumped details in our laps to expand on the breadcrumbs they'd already left behind. They had a neon Bonnie sign be the thing that electrocuted Monty, the carpet Bonnie's body is on matches the carpeting in Monty Golf, and they went out of their way to line the claw marks with green. (And that's not even counting stuff that was hinted at in the base game). I'm all for theorizing alternate possibilities, but if someone wants to form a legitimate argument against Monty being the killer, then at least come up with something strong enough to counter what's in the games.

In truth, a few people have put out some really well-thought-out videos rallying for Monty's innocence, and I respect them for the work they've put into it. They've managed to really make me think! I just want to see more folks like that, people who think about what they're saying before positing their thoughts in a twenty-minute YT video trying to save their favorite boy.

Because let's be real, Monty is a fantastic character. I love seeing people who are passionate enough to fight for him. For me, I still lean heavily into the "Vanny made him do it" camp because people aren't wrong, Monty wouldn't have done something like that to Bonnie of his own free will...but the evidence Steel Wool set out for us to find is a bit too damning for me to think Monty was completely uninvolved. I'm just hoping we get some damn clarity from Steel Wool soon because I think, between Who Killed Bonnie and the disagreements over which ending Ruin takes place after, some minor wars and disputes are starting to break out across the fanbase that I reeaaally want to avoid lmao. Give us a hand here, SW! If you're gonna keep us guessing with everything else, then at least give us the answers to something!

#FNaF Ruin Theory #kind of #FNaF Theory #Monty Gator #Glamrock Bonnie #Montgomery Gator

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morphogenetic · 6 months

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finished investigation of case 2-2! am about to spam some screenshots so bear with me

fambly....... 2.

see i thought ryuu was smarter than his descendant but it seems like he truly is the 'the doctors said i had internal bleeding. that's where all the blood is supposed to be' in some ways....

no comment.

actual theory-related screenshots (and just raw theories) below the cut. includes some dgs1 stuff for sure and implied dgs2 later game things based on a specific spoiler i know

firstly. i guessed that there was something weird with the gas and that's why natsume was feeling really bad all the time. and the case very much does seem to be going the 'THERES A GAS LEAK' direction so. feeling vindicated about that.

second, as i was typing this, it just hit me that there's a very specific hat in shamspeare's room that seemed familiar. like it was made by that one hatter guy. that definitely seems related - if not in a 'that hatter guy made that hat' way, in a 'this must be related to someone else who wears a hat.'

i do remember a guy with a knife who was a juror in an earlier case. would definitely be weird but not impossible that it's That Guy. i do remember seeing him take the stand at some point in someone else's screenshot (unspoilered.....fun!), though idk if it's this case or not so. you know.

thirdly, more overall-game relevant:

this stuff is reaaally making me feel like asougi was planning on 'dying' from the beginning for some reason. like there's a specific plan that he + watson + gregson + whoever shin is where planning from the beginning. hard for me to tell WHY at this point but "there's something I needed to do" makes it kind of. hmmm. hrmmmmmmmm. not sure i like it.

i really want to know who A. Shin is still, since that would maybe help me put a few of the pieces together, but i get the feeling he's possibly tied up in barok's being a xenophobic asshole so maybe i won't learn that for a solid while. guess I'll find out....

also the fact that they keep bringing up karuma's history feels....odd. i don't know why they would keep talking about this random sword if it wasn't relevant some how but i don't feel like i have enough info on this. oh. additionally. all the 'asougi clan' stuff is making me a bit suspect. i did see someone with the same last name in the art files [sorry. i know i shouldn't have looked] but i a) thankfully did not catch their first name b) did not actually LOOK at the art so i have no idea how they're related. still, though, even without that hint this would probably be the point of the game where i would be starting to go 'is asougi's dad terrible.......' because. i don't have another idea.

i mean i don't KNOW it's his dad lmfao but still. i guess said asougi could also be one of the reasons (the reason?) van zieks is xenophobic. but we will see. We Will See.

#i realized that i fucked up and didn't get one of the 1-5 achievements so i have to go back and do that. whoops.#so uh. you will probably not see an update on this front for a few days while i make my way back to the 1-5 trial...............sighs #aj plays dgs2 #aj plays dgs

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oodlyenough · 2 years

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the last of us 1x06: kin

surprisingly don't think i have a ton to say about this ep of the last of us but i feel like i should continue posting for posterity at this point lol. (eta: i said that, then started writing my thoughts, and wrote a gazillion words anyway.)

side note: any canadians watching on crave? isn't it fucking terrible. trash service

anyway: 1x06!

continuing to enjoy joel and ellie a lot. the further we get into the show i think the more they've come into the roles and evolved into their own versions of the characters, which is fine. good even. i think bella ramsey and pedro pascal have very fun chemistry together, and i think bella carries the comedy beats really well, which means i've been enjoying seeing more and more of those. i also really like those scenes because they feel familiar without being complete retreads of the game dialogue (which inherently invites me to make comparisons on delivery, etc)

so this joel is much more openly vulnerable. i think this change works to go with what we've seen in the show so far and places where the show is presumably going. and, i'll be honest, i find show joel a much more likable character. 🤷🏼‍♀️

the "not my daughter" scene hit differently... tbh i think it hit less, but not really through any fault of the show's, if that makes sense. it's just one where beat by beat i know the words as delivered by troy and ashley and my brain is super imposing them

loved the opening with the Indigenous couple, they were so funny, and the idea of florence seeing joel puffed up like an angry bird and identifying zero threat and making him soup lmfaoooooo hkghlkg. honestly w game joel i don't think that would work, lol, but w show joel it did. such a funny way to use the map easter egg, and the "there are firefly people?" followed by the couple laughing at their own joke killed me lol

also loved ellie's indignation about how they probably don't know anything because they're "a thousand" and they don't even know the fireflies, who are probably a total nonentity outside select QZs. extreme kid energy. they haven't even HEARD of paw patrol can you believe it. what do they know. also, congrats to them escaping joel and ellie mostly unscathed... minus a rabbit. (rude, ellie.)

show maria was great idc. imo game maria is not much of a character, so the show had plenty of room to expand, and i liked how they did it. i see some people reacting badly to her skepticism of joel and forgiveness of tommy, but we also don't really know what exactly she's been told by tommy. maria being pregnant is also a more solid reason for why tommy can't take ellie than we got in the game.

i can't really evaluate tommy or maria as characters without factoring in part 2 and at this point there's enough difference that who knows where the show will go with tommy and maria in s2, so, it's all kinda fair game imo

the university scene felt a bit rushed but i guess there really isn't that much to do there when you're not rearranging dumpsters and killing infected. it was the first time the show felt notably rushed to me, and i suspect that feeling will get worse in the back third of the show. ah well.

joel's injury and the fight felt anticlimatic compared to the big action set piece of the game, BUT i think it worked much better in context (joel's explicit fears in this ep becoming manifest), and also, game joel's injury is sooooooooooo ludicrous and video game it just wouldn't work on tv lmao. i kind of wish we'd seen ellie land any of her shots on those guys, but i have my theories as to why we didn't. tbd

misc other thoughts:

diva cup scene... excellent. was worried about those musty tampons.

SALLY FUCKIN' RIDE lmaoooooo ellie. u lesbian. ilu

like everyone i was beyonce.gif DINA?!?!?!? in the cafeteria scene. 100% that was dina, there's no way it wasn't. it might not be the final cast actress (i can see them not wanting to cast a major role so far in advance for a cameo, and they have a time skip to justify any appearance changes), but as a character that was surely meant to be dina. ellie that's ur WOMAN

we're 10000% getting some other cameos in the finale. i'm ready 👀👀👀👀👀

lastly: can't wait for this weekend's episode. the one i've most anticipated. left behind DLC my beloved...

#the last of us hbo #the last of us

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theocrabalar · 1 year

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Guns we never got to use in Metal Gear Solid 2

So, instead of gushing over how amazing MGS2 is, let's get down to brass tacks and immediately nerd out over what we didn't get. First off, let's start at the beginning. Olga Gurlukovich, the woman who's the sole reason I start making monkey noises when I see a woman in super baggy pants with suspenders hanging down. She carries a PSS pistol;

The PSS is a silent semi-automatic pistol, this pistol gets tossed overboard before the player can get a chance to use it. If in use by the Gurlukovich mercenaries, we could imagine it would be a pistol with very scarce ammo, but also highly effective, being semi-auto. Probably considered a lethal option to the XM9.

Next up, we have the NRS2. No good in-game picture available, so a picture of the real thing will do;

This highly unusual knife gun, which is fired with the blade pointed towards yourself. For gameplay, this could probably be used for focus on close quarters fighting, but with a possibility of shooting at something in the distance without needing to swap weapons. It would certainly be an interesting option that could make gameplay varied.

Next up, the Colt Single Action Army revolver.

"This is the greatest handgun ever made. The Colt Single Action Army. Six bullets. More than enough to kill anything that moves." It's clear that MGS3 figured out, holy shit, this gun is cool and we need to let the player use it. Especially, with how they added gameplay features to it, they decided to give the gun the ability to ricochet bullets so you can trickshot your way through Tselinogorsk. The same mindset in MGS2 could have made for some really interesting choices considering all the fancy indoor areas and hallways. There's also no proper magnum handgun for the player in MGS2, so if you want a handgun that can blast away common enemies in a single shot to the chest, this could have been it.

Sergei Gurlukovich himself pulls a Makarov on Scott Dolph during the tanker chapter. This would been a basic sidearm for the mercenaries and is understandably cut, it's a gun that it's difficult to make exciting for the player as it would performed the same as the USP, but lower capacity and no laser and no silencer. Then again, it could have been added purely for variety's sake. Which is always good to make something feel vast and a real universe.

"Laugh and grow fat" This one would be interesting in-game for the player. Provided it would be somewhat controllable for skilled players, and sharing ammo with the USP, it could be a hog for churning through your ammo and low range, but if used up closed, you could definitely do some solid bursts of damage. What magazine the gun would have, would definitely help decide if you could bursts a few enemies before reloading, or needing to reloading between every enemy.

This is another special one. It's already very special that a russian mercenary group would use a western shotgun such as the SPAS-12. It also features a combination pump and semi-automatic mechanism. This could in theory allow the player to change the firerate. Who knows for what purpose, there could be some video game logic like how they can only use the really powerful ammunition with a pump-action, and have the less damaging ammo be spammable with the semi-automatic mechanism. Or, they could skip that and make the shotgun be only pump or only semi, and then focus on how it works in that way. It definitely opens up a world of weird gameplay options.

Here's a weird one, a rail gun. MGS2 is a stealth game. I realize that, and I really like it. But it really suffers in the department of being able to do things at a distance outside of set pieces set up for sniping. It would definitely be a New Game Plus type of gun, maybe given out for playing through the game while helping or tranq'ing birds, not killing them. It would definitely be a great gun for taking out bosses. It was later implemented in Peace Walker, but required quite the team effort to use it efficiently. Clearly, the developers also loved this magnificent piece of art and weaponry in game.

Here's another fun one. Assuming it would be a counter to the M4 later available in-game, the AN94, could possibly given the hyper-burst option, making it fire two rounds per trigger press in an insane fire rate. Looking at how the gun has a light or laser mounted onto it's front gas port/gas block, it looks really close to be able to be used by the player already.

Here's a gun that is really known for being cut content. The French FAMAS. How it made it's way to the tanker or plant would be difficult to imagine considering it was supposed to be only for the genome soldiers in Alaska in MGS1. It would occupy the same purpose as the AKS74u and the M4 as well, so it wouldn't add anything new to the player, but it would feel familiar for returning MGS1 players. While not correct, the gun could have had a three round burst to differentiate it, like how it does in Counter-Strike 1.6 which is what I really know it from, form these days.

The FN P90. What a wonderful PDW. Again, another gun that's understandable that we don't have access to, as it wouldn't contribute much, but would also clutter an already weird to navigate inventory. It's equipped with the original old red dot sight, so in first person view, that would actually be very different for regular players of first person shooters with iron sights from these days.

Here's a really weird one, the SPP-1M Underwater pistol. Wait what? So in the original design of MGS2, there was an even greater focus on the underwater parts of the gameplay, even more fighting. Which explains why someone would suggest adding an pistol focused on underwater fighting. Probably also related to the cut Dead Cell member who went by the name "Chinaman" who was an olympic level swimmer, and if Vamp's boss fight wasn't annoying enough, I can totally see the need for a gun in that section. There is leftover code in the game that suggest this got quite far in development for player use, the gun itself as far as I know, don't have a model in-game.

And here for the last firearm that should/could have been available to the player. The M203 grenade launcher. It's very clearly shown off in several cutscenes, being used by both the Navy Seals when confronting Fortune, as well as Snake Plissken;

How this would be utilized in-game would be interesting. Could definitely be a very viable boss-encounter weapon with it's full-auto capability from the M4, and then being able to somehow quickly switch over to using the grenade launcher. So in conclusion, many of this firearms were considered, but when we think about it, we can also clearly understand why much of it was cut, so there would be less work to do on bland equipment, so the developers could rather focus and shine up all the equipment that is actually interesting gameplay wise.

Most images blatantly stolen/copied from IMFDB.org, MetalGear.fandom.com and Wikipedia.

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starlight-time-machine · 5 months

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Week in Review

04/28/2024 – 05/04/2024

Sunday

Week 12 of missing Cipher Academy

Ah, there’s the breakup I was expecting in Girl Meets Rock. I’m also liking this Kabru-esque co-worker of Chihiro’s (in looks, not personality), perhaps even as a love interest for her…though she has enough going on right now as it is. And then the further sprinkling in of queer overtones was nice.

Undead Unluck is so good…I like that Nico has managed to retain some of his cheeky cheerfulness in combination with the agedness he’s suddenly gained with all those memories. And I’m starting to see the NicoIchico vision, that “confession” was so cute. But most of all, I love that him regaining his memories has managed to develop 100’s Nico’s character arc…he finally gets to properly grow and repay Fuuko for everything…

Took a break from Manga Sunday to try out another TV show, The Big Flower Fight. It’s honestly hilarious how much they aped the Great British Bake Off’s formula, down to the tent and hosts and judges and the sketches that show what the contestants are going for, etc. It’s a bit awkward at times but fun enough to have on in the background, with some fun contestants to root for, and there were a few pieces that I enjoyed like the moth from episode 1 or the turtle from episode 7. I think the right people won in the end, too, so it was a perfectly fine show. I’ll give it a 4/10, which may seem harsh, but it’s basically just six hours of pleasantly British white noise so it’s not going to have a particularly lasting impact on me.

Oshi no Ko cheesy as hell…the sun coming through as Ruby makes her “dazzling declaration”…okay… The fake out with the stairs… Let’s see what Hikaru does next I guess…

One Piece extremely good. I love seeing some familiar faces, and with the mention of Robin’s past again, this really feels like the culmination of something that’s been in the works for a long time. And we actually get Vegapunk’s message!! I’m not well-versed in One Piece lore enough anymore to make any theories, but I’m excited to see what other details we can glean before the Five Elders inevitably cut the message short.

SpyFam also extremely good this week. I love that we’re getting a whole miniarc focused on Henry and Martha…I hope they actually get together, but with Endo’s glacial track record I’m not really holding my breath. Their backstory so far is really cute, tinged with an air of bittersweet regret in their old age and the ever-looming presence of war.

Monday

I’m going to be honest, I’ve been sucked into a massive Rune Factory 4 Special hole for the past few days and it’s still going strong…all I do is wake up and play RF4S while watching YouTube videos… I’ll talk about RF4S in length when I ‘finish’ it, so these next few days will be pretty barren.

Tuesday

RF4S

Wednesday

RF4S

Thursday

DunMesh Thursday! Today’s meal is stir fried tofu with preserved duck egg and rice, which maybe would’ve fit in better with the Asian dishes last week, but oh well. Today’s episode was really fun, the shapeshifter chapter is a fan favourite for a reason and I don’t think the adaptation disappoints. I love the use of the crappy digital zoom again, as well as the anti-climax of Marcille silently exploding the beast – the comedy beats were really solid all throughout. And now I can’t wait to see Izutsumi’s introduction in proper next week…

Caught up with Akuheki finally and it’s…okay… I felt like their reconciliation was a little too quick and easy, and then the manga brushes that aside entirely to focus on recontextualizing Youhei’s trauma in a way I kind of really don’t like… Absolving the woodsman of all guilt and making him out to be a martyr feels like they’re trying to uncomplicate or un-taboo Youhei’s relationship to him… Granted, the woodsman being his father doesn’t make his trauma any more manageable, but the way that everything was presented and the number of “serious moments being undercut by a comedic beat” scenes in this stretch of chapters (and the fact that this is the last volume) doesn’t give me a lot of confidence that the manga is planning on further exploring how this changes Youhei’s psychology…feels more like a bandaid that they’re putting on his trauma to make him more willing to be in a relationship with Daimon… I hate to say it, but I think Akuheki is fumbling the ending for me. If the ending was good then I would’ve wanted to buy it physically, but not so much now.

Also read the latest chapter of Takatora-kun, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the story is moving beyond the realm of high school. With the socio-political talk that’s gone on in this manga so far, I’m really excited to see how these guys fare in actual society.

Friday

RF4S

Saturday

I didn’t even play a lot of RF4S today, just caught up on work and fell asleep early lol

#week in review #2024

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familyagrestefanblog · 3 years

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Theory for “Gabriel Agreste”

Saying that I'm EXCITED for this episode is an understatement, I'm THRILLED! So let me give you my speculation for what could happen in it and how it’ll affect the future, because pieces are literally just falling into place in my brain and I just have to write this down.

The episode is called" Gabriel agreste" because in this episode Gabriel will create a (long time) Sentimonster for himself that'll take his place and cover for him in his civilian life while he himself gets completely swallowed by his Hawkmoth/ShadowMoth identity (which is a direct paralell to the fate Marinette just escaped by telling Alya her secret). He doesn't want to "waste" anymore unnecessary time by having to NOT be Hawkmoth, which then completely separates him from Adrien who very much was one of the last (if not THE LAST at this point) few strings that kept him grounded in his humanity.

The episode takes place right before the middle of the season and since it's season 4 we are talking about here its fair to assume that both Adrien and Gabriel are back at (at least) suspecting each other to be Chat Noir and Hawkmoth again at some point. Adrien is going to be even more rebellious after the status quo break and set up of "Lies" so him maybe (or maybe even confirmed already to Gabriel) to be Chat Noir could definitely be the factor that sets Gabriel over the edge, rips these two apart for good (as I foresaw in my analysis of "Jackady") and brings Gabriel to distance himself altogether while covering his own identity from his son by creating a Sentimonster (bc Adriens secret being discovered by his evil family is already forshadowed to hell and back, just like him ending up getting Homeschooled again this season, mark my words)

---

"Queen Banana" is supposed to take place right before "Gabriel Agreste" and we have a leak where it's seen that Adrien is now kinda taking on Nathalies role since she is (supposedly) still bed ridden.

Seriously, just humour me here and stay with me. This would mean that Adrien would get to see and interact with his father much more often and Gabriel wouldn't be able to ditch everything and turn into Hawkmoth as easily as he was able to with Nathalie.

A cover up Sentimonster was actually already kinda forshadowed in "Party Crasher"

by introducing HoloGabe with the intention of providing Gabriel with alibis and to attend meetings etc for him in the future so Gabriel can invest more time into being Hawkmoth. But a Hologramm is not suitable for every occasion, which is where the Sentimonster comes into play.

At first Adrien wouldn't notice much off about his father and the few things he notices Adrien actually doesnt mind. If SentiGabe is really supposed to replace Gabriel as... Well, Gabriel, that also means as a FATHER and my money is on SentiGabe being created to be a better father than the original. SentiGabe does everything Adrien wanted his father to do in s1-s3: Join Adrien at dinner time, spend more time with him, is in general in better of a mood and not such an unpleasant dick and so on and so on.

Easy to say, Adrien basically welcomes the good change he always wanted in his "Father" with open arms and chooses to ignore things that seem suspicious and the always remaining gut feeling of something just being... off. This will collide with the unveiling of more of the family (+ Emilie) mystery which will for Adrien all continue to point at Gabriel as Hawkmoth because of one event that is likely to happen in episode 4.

I'm currently writing on yet another post about this topic in particular, so I will link it HERE for elaboration once I post it, but in short, I think Rena Rouge and the Grimoire secrets Marinette shears with Alya could be the catalyst of Adrien suspecting his father to be Hawkmoth again.

Adriens memories of the time he went through the Grimoire himself in "Volpina" would be triggered again after seing the Grimoire page Rena (honestly, quite recklessly) brings along into battle and from then on things will slowly pile up until Gabriel deflects from himself with SentiGabe in "Gabriel Agreste" (just like he did in “The Collector”)

People WAY to easily forget how ready and serious Adrien was in "The Collector" when he actually concidered his father to be Hawkmoth.

Keep in mind that Ladybug was only able to tell Chat Noir the weakest reasons of her suspicion against Gabriel (while the Grimoire being Guardian property was NEVER found out by Adrien... til NOW) that being Gabriels mysterious personality and the butterfly logo of his brand.

These arguments are weak because they are ONLY actually suspicious in the specific context of Gabriel being Hawkmoth. Once you have proof against that they hardly hold any ground anymore, hence why both Adrien AND Marinette so easily brushed off these points after seeing Gabriel akumatized. I mean, excuse a designer for choosing a BUTTERFLY as his logo when his last name is literally the name of a butterfly type. The fuck kind of accusation is that??

So I hope you understand that when I say that, yes, these reasons DID trigger further memories/realizations for Adrien in that moment

It simply was only the tip of the iceberg.

The fact that Adrien not only gave Ladybug the fucking benefit of a doubt and heared her out about accusing his FATHER of being HAWKMOTH and took it THAT seriously and wanted to find out if his father truly IS Hawkmoth means that Adrien very much sees his father as capable of being Paris villain Nr 1. This... understanding and acceptance of Gabriels nature already had to be in Adrien much prior to "the collector" to set it off like this. And while normally Adrien chooses to turn a blind eye towards his fathers bad qualities in favor of seeing Gabriels redeeming (and even the rare somewhat GOOD) qualities, Adrien only does so because he thinks Gabriel hasn't crossed the line yet that makes his father undeserving of these loving conciderations. But Gabriel being Hawkmoth IS CROSSING that line for Adrien and he immediately sets aside his remaining/choosen love for his heavily flawed father and willingly sees Gabriel for what he is.

Adrien already did it once with only a few somewhat solid reasons and the Grimoire being kept secret from him altogether,

So he will do it again, just this time the proofs and developments are supposed to stay for good.

---

This development would not only be forshadowed by "the collector"

But also by the episode "Ladybug". There Mayura used a Sentimonster version of Ladybug against Chat Noir, using their love against him. What she didn't know though was that Ladybug actually isn't in love with her partner (yet) which ended up with Chat Noir being put in the situation of having to decide which Ladybug he believes to be real.

Does he believe and hold onto Sentibug who returns the love he so desperately seeks in life or does he let go of his hopeful wish and accept the heartbreaking reality of once again not receiving his love in return from yet another person he holds so dear?

In "Ladybug" Adrien couldn't make that crushing decision yet (and don't clown in the replies about this, not only was the situation vastly different it's also a cruel thing to ask of Adrien) but as we are used from Miraculous by now, that episode was only the set up for future events.

What Adrien couldn't let himself believe about Ladybug and Sentibug he will have to FORCE himself to accept about his Father and Hawkmoth. Same set-up of the Sentimonster symbolising Adriens desperate and hopeful WISH what his loved one were vs the crushing, heart wrenching reality of what his loved ones actually ARE. Just that letting go of his wish for Ladybugs love didnt seem "necessary enough" for the mission to succeed so he just couldn't MAKE himself give her up whereas accepting and seeing that his father is Hawkmoth is going to be one of the most crucial sacrifices of the show, changing the game forever. So as horrible, cruel and soul shattering as this is, putting an end to his fathers villainous reign for the sake of the greater good is a reason worthy enough to force himself through his pain.Which brings us once again back to “The collector” (which seriously forshadows almost everything I love that episode), because there is ONE major aspect that episodes sets up like crazy

And that is:

And thats where we are heading now.

This entire time Adrien wanted his Father to behave more fatherly, spend more time with him and improve his explosive behavior but he always got disappointed over and over again. So how heartbreaking would it be if over the course of the second half of the season THIS would be the very reason why Adrien gets behind Gabriels secret? Because SentiGabe behaved too fatherly for Adrien to truly buy it in his heart and when forced to decide what he actually believes his father to be - like the fatherly Sentimonster or the villainous Hawkmoth - Adrien has to and WILL recognize and accept his fathers true nature and turn against him, as it has been set up for a LONG time now.

This season shit’s about to go DOWN!

#Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #Ml spoilers #Ml Theory #Ml season 4 #Episode: Gabriel Agreste #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Gabriel Agreste #Hawkmoth #Agreste family drama #or tragedy #thats more like it #SentiGabe #I am so EXCITED for this episode!!!#Ml analysis

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asweetprologue · 3 years

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Nili’s Benchmark Geraskier Fic Rec List

hey yall! I officially hit 750 followers (a few days ago, I blew past the benchmark without even realizing!), which is... insane. I truly can’t believe that so many people over the last year have enjoyed my presence in this fandom enough to continue to follow my work. you guys are so great and I love you all so much, so I decided to put together a gift for you!

this is a list of my favorite geraskier fics from the fandom, which I have been putting together over the last year or so. a few of these are big in the fandom, but a lot of them are smaller pieces that I feel deserve more attention! I have provided ao3 and tumblr links where I could find them, as well as ratings and summaries. Most of these are canon!verse because I’m not personally a big fan of modern au’s, but there will be a few of those scattered throughout as well. I’ve divided the fics into two sections: oneshots and multichapter. See the list below the cut!

Being in this fandom truly has gotten me through the pandemic in a big way and I have made so many good friends while here. thank you all for validating my weird obsession with these characters and enabling me in these trying times <3

Oneshots

all that was good, all that was fair (all that was me is gone) | M | 7517 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions Of Violence | @xdandelionxbloomx

Somewhere, deep in a forest, a man drags himself from his grave by sheer power of will. He lies gasping on the forest floor and does not know who or what he is. The world is wide and wonderful, though, and there is so much to see.

Or, Jaskier is so stubborn that he literally comes back from the dead.

Another fascinating addition to the mythology of the Witcher. Jaskier’s slow rediscovery of himself is so well done here. One I’ve come back to again and again.

As Fast As Love Can Go | T | 9628 | @bygodstillam

There are Faeries in the Wood.

That's what everyone said, at least, not that there was any solid proof. Jaskier had tried, more than once, to find some. Just a hint somewhere, of a real story, of real magic. But all anyone seemed to have was stories.

Jaskier was determined to find proof. He wasn't expecting to find a witcher in the process.

Fascinating fic with some really interesting worldbuilding, and a fresh new take on True Love’s Kiss. Also with some great art by @hehearse!

beautiful, he stirs up still things | T | 2575 | @alittlebitmaybe

“You’re not asking me to dance,” says Geralt.

Jaskier turns his palm up on his knee, offering it. “I think you’ll find I am.”

Just them dancing. This is a lovely sort of pre-relationship dynamic. So soft.

Dialogue Prompt | NR | 2932 | @reinvent-and-believe

Dialogue Prompt 48: “You make me want things I can’t have.” Wordless I-love-you 50: buying them a special treat when you go out shopping

Geralt gets Jaskier a gift, which prompts some confessions.

Even a small love | E | 22,272 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con

“Well,” Jaskier replies distractedly. “Lots of things want to strangle you.”

“You don’t.”

It isn’t a particularly troublesome accusation, or even necessarily an accusation at all.

This is one I read early on in the fandom, and it really stuck with me. The dynamic between Jaskier and Geralt is perfect, and the misunderstandings between them feel so realistic. The non-con is not extreme, but do mind the warnings.

For the Space of a Heartbeat | T | 2021 | @drowningbydegrees

As it turns out, falling into bed with your very best friend who you are privately very much in love with isn't nearly so nerve wracking as waking up with them the morning after.

Just sweet, morning after discussions. I love to see them talking for once.

Greensleeves | T | 10,414 | @rebrandedbard

When Geralt crosses paths with Jaskier in the spring, the world is dressed in green. Quite literally. Everyone everywhere is wearing green, and it all comes down to a song Jaskier has written that, to his mortification, has become popular throughout the Continent. It's torment, being forced to preform the song over and over again and have his heart broken anew. But who is this Lady Greensleeves the people say Jaskier is so maddeningly, heartbrokenly in love with? At the baron's wedding party, Geralt is determined to find out.

This is one of my personal faves - there’s just something about Jaskier’s feelings being put on blast while Geralt remains totally oblivious that I think is so very them. And the resolution at the end is delightful.

I Don’t Wanna Fall (If It’s Not In Love) | E | 13,902 | @writinglizards

The first time it's out of desperation. Things get rapidly out of hand from there.

OR the building of a relationship through mutual wank sessions.

I love everything Ashley writes, but this one was the first fic I read by her and it still has a warm place in my heart. I also highly recommend It’s Been A While (makes me cry every time) and Tell Me Honestly

Like a Storm, Like a Flood | T | 1065 | @valdomarx

Jaskier is leaving for the winter, and Geralt can't bear the thought of not seeing him for months.

It was soooo hard to pick only one fic by George, but this one is so soft and sweet and yearning I just had to go with it. This is really just about Geralt finally hitting a breaking point and saying enough is enough.

one flesh | E | 10,763 | WARNING: MCD

“Well, then. I’m a ghost.” Jaskier spread his arms grandly. Geralt held his gaze for a moment, then dropped his head and laughed. Jaskier put his hands on his hips. “Do fill me in on what’s so funny.” It wasn’t funny. It was just so - ridiculous, the things Geralt’s fucked up brain would invent. This had to be the last nail in the sanity coffin, it just had to be.

Or: Jaskier is a ghost, and Geralt is a mess.

Jaskier dies and comes back as a ghost to haunt Geralt into taking care of himself. Geralt does not handle this gracefully. This fic is so sad and heartbreaking, but the ending is so sweet.

to render it transparent | E | 23,901

Geralt wakes up warm, peaceful, and utterly content, which is how he knows that something is severely wrong.

Sigh. This fic. This is a time travel fic - Geralt ends up in the future living with Jaskier on the coast, just after the mountain. It’s slow and beautiful and extremely bittersweet, all about how we choose to love people despite how much it can hurt us.

With All the Continent A Stage | M | 4745 | @greyduckgreygoose

Later, Geralt learned that the play was four hours long. Four hours long. It didn’t feel like it. Most of it passed by in a fever dream of ominous music, dance-fighting and dryads in gossamer leaves, swinging from hoops attached to the ceiling. Yennefer made an appearance, played by Priscilla in a glittering negligee. She sang a song to Geralt about putting him “Under Her Spell”, and they had a sensual dance number which was made a little strange by a sickened Jaskier (played by Jaskier) coughing loudly in the background.

(Jaskier invites Geralt to a musical production inspired by his own life.)

Jaskier basically writes Geralt a love letter in the form of a four hour long play. Geralt is an idiot about it.

Multi-Chapter Fics

A Lover’s Lament | M | 25,364 | @somedrunkpirate

So,” Jaskier begins, as casually as he can, “you are telling me, that in theory, if I were to be in love with someone — anyone — that person could well be in terrible danger?”

Of all terrible and ridiculous things that have threatened Geralt’s safety, Jaskier’d never thought that loving him might be what will get him killed.

I honestly can’t count the number of times I’ve read this fic. The monster is so interesting, and the mythos of it fits seamlessly into the world of the Witcher in my mind. Jaskier being so afraid that his feelings are going to put Geralt at risk, clearly unable to see that Geralt is going through the exact same thing. I think about the scene with them looking at each other almost daily.

A Pair of Gloves, the Scent of Roses | M | 24,134 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence

In the bustling days before the Midsummer festival, Geralt is sent into the countryside to deal with a monster - with Jaskier once again by his side. But the bard has not forgiven him, and while he's not hiding his contempt for the Witcher, he is recalcitrant about revealing his true motives for joining him. As the hunt turns into a desperate mission to save an innocent man and the monster is not what is seems to be, Geralt learns a few new things about his old friend and decides to finally attempt to mend the rift between them...

This is one of my favorite’s in the fandom - it feels so believable, the world is so rich and the oc’s are convincing and charming. Geralt and Jaskier feel so honest here, stumbling around each other but still drawn together. Beautiful beautiful beautiful

Bearing the will of the flower | NR | 11,449

The way Jaskier sees it, his hobby of following a witcher around was always pretty likely to get him killed.

The fact that it's happening now because the witcher in question doesn't love him, he thinks as he coughs up crumpled flowers, hardly makes a difference.

My favorite hanahaki fic in the fandom. I’m such a sucker for these, and these two idiots being so incapable of talking about their feelings really makes them prime candidates.

Food of Love | T | 22,488 | @wallatile-qvibbler

I brought a dead princess back to life through the power of song is the kind of thing that would have got an eyebrow raise even from the stone-faced Geralt of Rivia, so it's a good thing he and Geralt will probably never see each other again.

(or: the one where Jaskier channels magic through his songs, and it almost never goes as expected.)

This is a Jaskier and Renfri centric fic, which wasn’t something I knew I wanted until I read this. Jaskier is a bard which in this AU comes with magical powers, but it feels so well integrated into the universe that I wish it was just... how the Witcher is. Renfri is so good here, and even though Jaskier and Geralt barely even interact you can feel the tension and love between them. Cannot recommend highly enough.

friends and allies of the witcher | T | 10,312 | @theamazingbard

Yennefer crawls over to her newest cellmate. They’re curled up on their side. Breathing, but only just. She’s not sure what she’s hoping for when she turns them over. Still isn’t when she sees that it is indeed Jaskier.

“Shit."

Yennefer and Jaskier each suffer in more ways than one at the hands of Nilfgaard.

Yennefer and Jaskier get capture by Nilfgaard and tossed into a cell together. Exactly what I want out of season 2 honestly. Their interactions are gold.

I’d Be the Choiceless Hope | E | 45,188 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con | @lesdemonium

As a baby, Jaskier was visited by a fae, who gifted Jaskier's mother with Jaskier's obedience. As Jaskier grew older, the "gift" became more of a curse.

You know I’m not gonna make a rec list without listing Zoe’s Ella Enchanted au. Need I say more?

Silver and Copper | M | 56,139 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence | @kaer-cuan

Geralt is just supposed to pass through the quiet Lettenhove area. He's not anticipating being begged by its people to help save their viscount from a curse that keeps him from daylight. Lord Jaskier, they call him, and he's likely dying.

As Geralt struggles to untangle the ugly web of history that has lead to the increasingly complicated curse, he finds himself spending more and more time with the strange young viscount and wondering just what he might have been before the curse, and who he might be after. But things are not always as they seem, and as the curse tightens its grip on Jaskier, Geralt is forced to face the fear of failing yet another person whose choices were stolen from them.

Or-

Jaskier is kept from becoming a bard. Geralt finds him anyway.

This is a fic that haunts me. It’s very scary in parts, and mind the tags - there are some very heavy themes here. But it’s beautiful and touching, and Jaskier feels very true to himself even though his origin is so different.

we could be married (and then we'd be happy) | E | 50,222 | @a-kind-of-merry-war

Jaskier reached into his pocket, fingers grasping around the little box. He pulled it out with what he hoped was a romantic flourish, flipping it open to reveal the simple gold band inside. “Geralt,” he said, confidently, cooly, like this wasn’t terrifying, “Will you marry me?”

Geralt and Jaskier fake marriage proposals to get free deserts and shit but it goes tits up when Vesemir catches them in the act. Not knowing how to fess up, they go along with it for a while, which is hell because they’re both pining like mad. As I said, I don’t love modern au’s, but it’s merry so of course this one had to end up on my list.

And that’s it! 20 fics for you, and hopefully you can all find one or two you haven’t read before. There are a lot of people and fics that I didn’t include in this list only because I was trying to not put a million down (which I could). I highly recommend anything by @wherethewordsare, @julek, @contemplativepancakes, @witcher-and-his-bard, and @inber, as well as those linked to fics above, and I’m sure there are others I forgot to mention. Yall have truly made being in this fandom worthwhile <3

#geraskier #geraskier fic recs #geralt of rivia #geralt #jaskier #witcher #fic recs #fic rec #I'm certain i missed a lot of good ones I've read over the years but I didn't want to risk making this super fucking long anyways #if you didn't see your name listed it isn't bc I don't adore you and your fics it's because i'm stupid <333

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absolutebl · 3 years

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I’m getting nasty today!

An entirely heretical list of my:

Top 10 Most Disappointing Thai BLs

BLs that really could have, and should have, been amazing but for various reasons just weren’t. In order of my personal feelings of betrayal (worst offenders at the top).

Fish Upon The Sky - Do you remember how excited we all were at the beginning of 2021 for this BL? GMMTV’s production values, the talent pool, and then... what? WHAT HAPPENED? WHHHYYYYYY?

Friend Forever - I knew this was a pulp going in so I really didn’t expect much but there was such amazing chemistry and potential in SeaTin that I got my hopes up. It was just frittered away by a truly abysmal script (or complete lack of one).

I am Your King 1 & 2 - Completely different stories/casts and disappointing in completely different ways, but I’m still lumping them together. The first one had killer actors and could have been the next Make it Right but just failed everyone with a cliff hanger ending. (Although, it’s one of Bite Me’s Mark Siwat’s first roles and he is unreasonably good in it.) The 2nd season had a great premise, setting, and good chemistry... with the wrong brother. Literally no one was rooting for what actually happened in either story.

My Gear and Your Gown - While it aired there was a lot of chatter about why this GMMTV offering didn’t live up to it’s potential - flawed chemistry, uneven pacing, weighting the story towards the miscommunication of high school, Itt’s weird motivations, and not enough time spent with them dating before they split. That’s just a few of MGYG’s issues. It should have been great, in the end it was just... clumsy.

Waterboyy - An early BL from Thailand so we probably should have expected it to be bad, but no one expected it to be THAT bad. Earth & New have decent chemistry, there was a GL side dish (!), and it was set on a SWIM TEAM for goodness sake! How could they have gone so wrong with such GREAT concepts and killer acting chops? And yet... and yet... belly flop.

My Tee AKA ‘Cause You’re My Boy - FrankDrake have killer chemistry, the combo of sweet tortured rich kid and scrappy sunshine poor boy with identity issues is a great one to tackle, and these two had the acting chops to do it justice. So what went wrong? The script failed them? The director mistrusted the actors? I don’t know. But it fizzled into cheap shots and illness and parental interference and left us (and the characters) out in the cold.

Make it Live on the Beach - It’s Make it Right, honestly none of us, even the ashamed devotees of this disaster franchise, expected much from this follow up. But what we got was just so very MEH even for MIR.

Nitiman - Look it was working its way around to being a really solid university pulp. Possibly one of the best. It had a great foundation, fun realistically collegial friendship groups, good side dishes, and a solid central couple. But it was cut short so it ended up feeling like one of those distressed sweaters we saw on K-pop idols and MuRen in H4 - confusing and unraveled and moth-eaten. It could have been fresh and modern, but because of its ending, it was neither.

Close Friend the series - With a sampler pack style and a killer cast of established pairs, if all the stories had been well written and given more than 30 min a piece, this could have easily surpassed and conquered Y-Destiny (not a very high bar, I admit). With very few exceptions (KipCop) it just... didn’t. If they wanted to fan service us, why not push it entirely into thematically ridiculous fanfic for all couples? Can you imagine if this had been vampire coven themed or something?

Theory of Love - Some of y’all are gonna hate me for this pick. But I really don’t like this BL. I find Kai abhorrent and his character utterly irredeemable and Third is a whiney-ass bitch. I love PickRome and I think OffGun are magic together, but I can not stand this show. Sorry, but there it is.

This is a measure of my entirely subjective anticipation against the various pay outs. So Friend Forever makes this list because I expected more based on the opener and talent, while Golden Blood and So Much in Love don’t because I expected so little from them. None of MAME’s stuff is on this list because I learned to keep that bar’s limbo action extremely low.

Others that should make this:

Enchante - my expectations were too high

Bite Me - my expectations were low and it still failed me

Top 5 Most Disappointing Taiwanese BLs

I have different expectations of Taiwan than Thailand, nevertheless...

Because of You - Faintly mafia, good kisses, 3 gay brothers, wildly old school yaoi tropes, AND multiple languages! What’s not to love? And yet, I didn’t love it.

Craving You - Pastry chef meets musician (who’s not Thai so it’s okay) and they fall in love while helping a gay couple plan their wedding. Honestly, who could ask more of Taiwan? But the central couple were not given meat or reason to like each other. It didn’t work at all. The early 1hr HIStory series installments had more to chew on than this. The wasted potential just gets my goat.

Speaking of...

HIStory Stay Away from Me - My new step brother is a famous idol who ends up living with me and really needs looking after is a GREAT premise. Very old fashioned traditional yaoi and I was here for it. The leads were lovely and had good chemistry and could have pushed this into higher heat - it just fizzled out somehow.

HIStory 3: The BL that shall not be named - WE HATES THE ENDING PRECIOUS. HATES IT.

HIStory 4: Close to You - Seriously? Drunk non-con? Gay for you? What is this? Wait a second, is MAME writing for Taiwan now? Stop it. Bad Taiwan. It’s 2021. You should know better.

Top 3 Most Disappointing Japanese BLs

Again, different standards. I like yaoi. I like seeing it adapted. I have feels.

Docchi mo Docchi - One of the best office set enemies-to-lovers yaoi ever, cast with two killer actors (one of whom had done high heat BL before) and this could have been the premier office BL. It failed spectacularly on all fronts, mostly by censoring itself. We had to wait 6 years and suffer through people thinking Ossan’s Love was actually good before Cherry Magic came onto the scene to show us how good office BL really can be. It was Docchi’s sub-genre to lose, and they lost it.

Love Stage! - I flipping LOVE Love Stage the anime (and I mostly don’t bother with anime). The live action version cut out THE most significant part of the plot: Itsumi’s cross dressing and androgyny and its big reveal. That part is significant to his character’s arc, his own self acceptance but ALSO it has to do with queerdom, celebrity, sensationalism, and cultural acceptance and it is a CRIME that they left it out. This should have been Japan giving us the best most groundbreaking bits of Lovely Writer and My Lascivious Boss, only before both. Instead it was forgettable and colorless.

Silhouette of Your Voice - This is a great BL until the very end, then suddenly it feels like something from China. Does that comment sting, Japan? Well, I mean it to STING. You should have done better. This should have been 2017′s Restart After Come Back Home. It was so close. Have the guts to get them together and kissing and happy by the end. This kind of BL execution just makes you look wimpy. Tut tut tut.

Most Disappointing Korean BL

Korea didn’t have any on this list for a while, but it has BEGUN!

Kissable Lips came from Moving Picture Company (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu's Wedding, The Tasty Florida, Tinted With Love) so we all expected a classic modern Korean BL.The leads were perfectly cast, very pretty, the ideal seme vampire and the ideal uke prey. I like it when a vampire is actually deadly and facing up to the moral quandary of living a very long life. I found the uke actor particularly endearing in this limited role, he was quite soft and appealing without being weak or inactive. I enjoyed most of it but near the end I did start to feel the sparseness and the limited cast, like it was a one act play of a fairytale. if you name your BL kissable lips you better end with a good kiss, even if you are Korea. But even a great kiss doesn’t mitigate killing the gay in a BL. Sorry. Not my thing. I’m aware of the history of BL, and I know dark is part of the tradition (even from Korea) but I HATE IT. These days a sad ending isn’t really Korea’s bailiwick (with the possible exception of Peach of Time), and they didn't set Kissable up properly. Right until the last episode I thought they might pull it out and save the couple in some supernatural way. Not that death came entirely out of nowhere, like H3:MODC, but still, it wasn't what I wanted in a vampire BL and I have been waiting for this trope so long for one. *this is my disappointed face* I also I hate that the sad ending explains why the kiss was so good. It’s the vintage trope of: Sexualize those gays and one of them MUST DIE. How old school of you, Korea. Anyhoozle, if they kill one half of the couple it gets a 2/10 (or lower) from me. Sorry not sorry.

(DNFs, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Pinoy BLs aren’t included on this list. I have no expectations of Korea so, so far, they’ve never really disappointed me. I’ll stop being mean now.)

(Source)

#Thai BL #Taiwanese BL #Japanese BL #live action manga #live action yaoi #yaoi adaptations #i am so mean

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mycoolwritingcorner · 2 years

Text

Buried Feelings: Facing Love at Last Chapter 4: Intervention

Minako was sitting on her couch reading a magazine when she heard a frantic knock on the door. As she got up to check who it was, the knocking persisted like the pecking of a woodpecker.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Minako shouted to whoever it was outside her door. As she unlocked the door and opened it the person on the other side immediately blew past her and entered her house. Minako was startled, until she saw that it was Makoto who forced her way in. She quickly became confused, however, upon seeing Makoto pacing back and forth in her living room while muttering to herself. "Um… hey, Mako! What brings you here?" Minako asked, even though she could guess what the answer was.

Makoto stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Minako. It was at this point that Minako realized that Makoto had clearly been crying, she began to ask what was wrong but was quickly cut off by her friend, "Ami is in love with me!"

Minako paused for a moment, before breathing a sigh of relief, "Oh, so she told you. For a second I was worried something really bad happened."

Makoto was taken aback by this response, "Hold on a second. What do you mean 'Oh, so she told you'? You knew?!" She shouted at the blonde.

"Makoto, honey… it was kind of obvious." Minako said back to her, "Truth be told I thought you were starting to piece it together when we were talking on our way home last night. Granted I also thought you were gonna confide in me about your own feelings for Ami so I was oh-for-two that night."

"Wait wait wait," Makoto interjected, "what do you mean 'my own feelings for Ami'?"

"Well, I seemed to underestimate how out of touch you were with your feelings, no offense." Minako replied before gesturing for Makoto to sit down next to her on the couch so she could stop pacing.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Makoto said, avoiding eye contact.

"Uh huh… that's why you always sit next to her when we're studying?"

"Yeah, you're right, I always sit next to our genius friend while doing homework. You sure got me there!"

"And you always bring at least one of her favorites when you bring food to our study sessions."

"I just want to make sure she's eating enough! You know how she gets once she starts studying."

"And you usually pair up with her when we're in battle."

"Well, I mean, for the longest time she had the weakest attack out of all of us. I just wanted to make sure she was safe! Also our powers go well together!"

"Not the only thing that goes well together." Minako added with a wink.

"Minako!"

"Oh, and also, Usagi told everyone about the time you looked up Ami's skirt."

"We have all looked up each other's skirts. It's hard to avoid when they're so short."

"True, but there's a bit of a difference between 'catching a glimpse' and 'staring intently for a solid minute'."

"... it wasn't a full minute." Makoto muttered under her breath.

"Anyway," Minako said, realizing they had gotten off track, "what happened with Ami?"

"I did what you said, I told her that I knew she wasn't talking to Rei about school and that I was worried that what was happening to her had something to do with me, and then she just tells me that she's been in love with me, like, the entire time she's known me!"

"And what did you do?" Minako asked in response.

"I… um… I ran away and came here." Makoto answered.

"You WHAT?" Minako replied in shock.

"I panicked, okay?! It's not everyday your best friend confesses their undying love to you!"

"I thought I was your best friend." Minako muttered under her breath, earning her a scolding look from Makoto. "Not the time, got it."

"I just… I had never really thought about her that way, y'know? But when she said that it was like… like a dam breaking. All these thoughts and emotions and I just… I couldn't face them, at least not all at once." Makoto explained.

"I see…" Minako stated, "I have a theory."

"Oh, do tell." Makoto said, somewhat sarcastically.

"So, based on what I'm hearing, putting romantic love aside it's at least safe to say that Ami holds a special place in your heart, correct?"

"Well, yeah."

"But you say you've never thought about her romantically."

"Yeah."

"And it's not because of anything having to do with her, right?"

"Of course not! I mean, she's smart and beautiful and kind and… anyway!"

"And we know that it's not because she's a girl because of the massive crush you had on Haruka."

"Hey! All of us had crushes on Haruka!"

"Yes, and I think that says more about us than it does about her. But that's besides the point."

"What is the point exactly?" Makoto said, getting a little annoyed.

"My point is that maybe the fact that you care so much about Ami is the reason you never saw her in a romantic light."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Mako, it's no secret that you haven't had the best track record when it comes to love."

"Thanks for rubbing that in." Minako heard Makoto mutter.

"Is it possible that the reason you wouldn't let yourself see Ami that way, and by extension the reason you never realized Ami's feelings for you, was because subconsciously you wouldn't let yourself believe someone could truly love you the way that Ami does, out of fear of being hurt again?"

"I… I don't… I… wow…" Was all Makoto could manage to say.

"They don't call me the Goddess of Love for nothing!" Minako proclaimed proudly.

"Minako, you call you the Goddess of Love." Makoto shot back.

"Details." Minako said, "The point is, let's talk about what we're gonna do from here."

"I… I don't know what to do." Makoto said, sounding incredibly deflated.

"Mako… do you love her?" Minako asked sincerely.

"I… I think I do?" Makoto answered honestly, "My brain feels like it's inside of a blender, it's hard for me to really determine how I feel about anything right now."

"And that's okay." Minako stated, "BUT, you need to tell Ami that. I'm sure she wouldn't blame you for not having a clear answer for her yet, but based on what you told me the poor thing probably went home and cried her eyes out because she thought she scared you away."

"Oh my god, you're right. I-I didn't mean-"

"I know." Minako said, trying to keep her friend from working herself up any more than she already had, "But you just need to call her and tell her how you feel."

"Okay… okay… could I use your phone?"

…

It wasn't often that Ami was glad about her mother's near constant absence from their home, but this was one of those times. Sure, it would be nice to cry in her mother's arms right now but that would likely also mean explaining to her mother why she was crying, which she certainly wasn't prepared to do right now. So simply sobbing on their couch would have to do. She wasn't sure how long she had been laying there, wallowing in her own misery, when the phone rang. She decided to just let it ring. After all, what did it really matter?

It wasn't until the phone rang three more times that she finally decided it was worth the effort to get up off of the couch and shut it up, potentially with force. When she picked up the phone, however, she was surprised to see Minako's number on it.

"Why didn't she just use her communicator?" Ami asked within her thoughts. She figured it must be important, however, for Minako to be this persistent, so she took a deep breath and prepared to put on her best 'I haven't been crying for the last two hours' voice.

"Hey, Minako, what's up?"

"Um… hey, Ami."

Ami almost dropped the phone. There was no mistaking it, that was Makoto's voice on the other end of the line. "Mako?" She finally managed to squeak out after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"Yeah… yeah it's me."

"Oh, Mako, I'm so sorry." Ami began, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears again, "It was selfish of me to spring this on you and I'm sorry but please don't hate me because you're my best friend and I can't imagine my life without you and… and…" Ami could feel tears begin to roll down her cheeks as she started shaking, "... and…"

…

Makoto felt horrible for what she had done to Ami. Sure, one could likely understand the reason why she had run away as she did, but that didn't make the consequences any less real.

"... and…"

"Hey hey hey, calm down, it's okay." Makoto began, wishing more than anything she could be there to comfort her friend, "I don't hate you Ami, I could never hate you."

Makoto could hear Ami sniffling from the other end of the line before she responded, "You… you don't?"

"No, Ami, of course not. It's just… I… when you told me how you felt I realized I had buried some things myself. And in that moment it felt like they were all coming up to the surface and I just… I didn't know how to deal with it."

"Oh Mako, I'm so sorry I-" Ami began before being cut off.

"Please, please don't be. It's not your fault." Makoto began, before being struck with a sudden realization. She spent a moment in quiet contemplation before speaking again, "Hey, um… tomorrow's Saturday, right?"

"I think so, why?" Ami asked, confused.

"Could you meet me by the fountain in the park at around nine tomorrow morning?" Makoto asked.

"Uh… sure. Why?"

"I just… I have so much I want to say to you but not over the phone. And not before we've both had some time to calm down a bit." Makoto finally said.

"Oh. Okay, Mako." Ami said from the other end of the line. Makoto could hear some life coming back to her voice.

"Alright. I'll see you then, Ami. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mako."

With that, Makoto hung up the phone and handed it back to Minako.

"So does that mean you've made up your mind?" Minako asked.

"Yeah… it does… thank you for helping me sort through all this, Minako." Makoto responded.

"Eh, don't sweat it. It's what I do." The blonde said, which caused Makoto to chuckle.

"Anyway, I need to get home… it's been… a long day." Makoto said while getting up off the couch.

"Alright, you gonna be okay getting home by yourself?" Minako asked, to which her auburn-haired friend simply smirked in response.

"Please, you do remember who you're talking to, right?"

…

Minako saw Makoto out before she collapsed back onto the couch and mimicked wiping sweat off of her brow. "Boy… I sure do have my work cut out for me."

And alas, that is where we must leave chapter 4.

But please, let me know what you guys think! Comments, likes, reblogs, etc. are of course all greatly appreciated.

And come back next time for chapter 5: I Want to Protect You.

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#Sailor Moon #MakoAmi #AmiMako #Ami Mizuno #Makoto Kino #Sailor Mercury #Sailor Jupiter #Minako Aino #Sailor Venus #Ami x Makoto #Makoto x Ami #Ami/Makoto #Makoto/Ami #Sailor Senshi #Sailor Scouts #90s anime #pretty guardian sailor moon

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astrolovecosmos · 3 years

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Neptune: Deep Dive

Pink petals

fallen onto

night shaded

waters.

Nothing is ever as it seems.

Wood turned to metal.

Reality turned to dreams.

-Natasha Reeves

The planet Neptune I think is most famous for two things - illusions and dreamy or ethereal associations. A lot of negativity is also commonly associated such as addiction, insanity, guilt, sorrow, denial, and doubt. This planet is complex and just like all the other planets has a huge array of associations. What prompted me to do a deep dive in Neptune? Well for one I’ve been going through the transit of Neptune in Pisces crossing over my IC which has been powerful and I am at the end of my progressed Moon in the 12th House. Also in my own chart I’ve been paying more attention to my natal Neptune placements... which are a lot more prominent and worthy of my attention than I’ve understood and noticed in the past. Honestly I spend a lot more time analyzing others’ charts vs. my own, and I really should have looked more closely at some of my own aspects. I have had a LOT of experience with Pisces influences throughout my life, intense ones. I want to make it clear that Pisces DOES NOT = Neptune. I’ve always wanted to write a whole essay about my experience as a Pisces friend, lover, family member, enemy, etc. An outsiders opinion but that isn’t this. This is a disclaimer because this is going to be both theory and my own experiences. This is a deep dive.

The Sea’s Love and Wrath

Neptune in a lot of mainstream media is described as gentle but this planet can be unpredictable and harsh, with erratic energy that could rival Uranus. Neptune can be about tolerance and kindness, seeing past the ego and material. Neptune can embody or promote unconditional love and forgiveness. Because Neptune can be about dissolving and merging this planet allows us to see ourselves in others, maybe even in everyone allowing for compassion, empathy, and the ability to love very freely and openly. But the illusion and deception of Neptune is its shadow.

Romanticizing and idealizing can be one of Neptune’s downfalls. Many times this is described as putting other’s on a pedestal but this can be applied to any area of life from work to places to ideals. From this those with strong Neptune aspects or prominent placements can find that disappointment is a frequent visitor. Neptune square, opposite, or conjunct Venus can quickly fall for others, trust others, and gravitates towards those they want to help or who have a strong personality they can meld with. Neptune opposite or square Mercury may face the frustration and disappointment of frequently being misunderstood or finding that they easily misread others or trust their words. After feeling tricked there can be wrath to these oceanic bodies.

Where will their vengeance or anger land? It isn’t fair if they idolize you to get mad at you... sometimes their anger is self-loathing and self-destructive, other times they take you down with them. But the lesson is that Neptune can be as soft and as dangerous as the sea.

Enlightenment and Madness

Coming down from the high, was getting lost in Neptune’s blue. Dreams and visions dancing in the back of my mind, when reality is so hard to chew. Sensation used to distract and pieces of stories stitched together to where nothing is fact.- Natasha Reeves

There are many influences that can grant us wisdom or enlightenment throughout astrology, but I don’t see too many writings or posts about Neptune and its connection to enlightenment, nirvana, or eurekas and on the flipside also insanity and denial. Neptune can pull away the fog to give us clarity - especially when looking at the whole of things, the big picture. Neptune can famously also be the fog.

The transit of Neptune crossing over my IC/4th House brought a lot of light to my childhood and how I was raised. However my IC is in Pisces, while Pisces isn’t the same as the planet, and many astrologers believe Neptune is not the ruling planet of Pisces - it is a sign known for illusions, confusion, and vagueness much like Neptune. I came from a place of a lot of secretiveness and vagueness, but when the “planet of illusions” crossed over I found myself accepting the instability and moments I felt lost or clueless in my life as well as looking back with remembering and understanding.

Neptune can represent the part of us that is hard to grasp and understand, it also faces us with the idea that it is okay to have unanswered questions, to not have closure, that many times we have to create that closure or solidity ourselves. Neptune much like Jupiter is a matter of faith whether in ourselves or a higher power.

It should be noted Neptune doesn’t always mean outside sources. Neptune is an introverted, intimate actor. It can represent how we lie to ourselves, trick ourselves, or how we push responsibility off of ourselves. Neptune also allows us to see, understand, more importantly feel what we easily ignore or can’t see.

Life’s Extremes - Our Extremes

“Neptune moves between the greatest extremes: from the highest spiritual awareness through imagination, fantasy, and illusion, to the depths of deceptions and disillusionment. The planet of mysticism, glamour, and enchantment, Neptune exerts a hypotonic fascination.” - Judy Hall.

When many think of extremes they probably think Pluto before Neptune. The blue sphere isn’t going to take away the icy orb’s reputation - Pluto holds tightly in terms of extremes, but Neptune is far from a level-headed, consistent influence. Let’s touch on fantasy and illusion - two things that tends to warn of foolishness or impracticality, but fantasy is part of everyone’s life, no matter how pragmatic or mature an individual claims to be. From coping to manifesting to understanding to enjoying, fantasy is a natural human thing. Think of how often you daydream in an hour, how many books, movies, and games you indulge in, how often you find yourself being tempted by gossip, and how often you find yourself painting a picture of another in your head - negative or positive.

Neptune symbolizes the abstract, importance, and rawness of our fantasies. Individuals with prominent Neptune aspects can find themselves easily tapping into their imagination, falling into escapism frequently, or have a great use for their wild ideas. If you think of the subject of fantasies or illusion as an extreme - it makes sense. You aren’t going to get an interesting story without the gods and monsters. Our sleeping dreams often are filled with strangeness or strong emotions. Clarity to madness, hopeless romantic highs to deeply wounded sorrows, and dissolving/surrendering to becoming whole/complete are common extremes this planet centers around.

I have Mercury Square Neptune which tends to make one doubtful of their own opinions and intellect, can increase misunderstandings, and make communication difficult for the individual. Mercury Square Neptune can make someone highly persuasive and deceptive but it can also make one easily confused, tricked, and manipulated by others. Rationality and intuition can conflict. One experience I have with this aspect is usually swinging from extremes to being very withdrawn and quiet to interrupting others, chatting away. I’ve been described by those in my life as always saying something they didn’t expect - few words but impactful or strange ones. This is an example of the more everyday way Neptune can present itself.

“Neptune-attuned people possess glamour in the old sense of the word: the ability to bewitch. They are also impossible to categorize or pin down, demonstrating the planet’s elusive quality. Lacking strong boundaries, Neptune-attuned people are susceptible to outside influences.” - Judy Hall. It is from these lack of boundaries and fluidness we see Neptune’s extremeness. Neptune aspects can have us take on the traits of others and there is intensity in that. Let’s say we are talking about a Neptune to Mercury aspect, here may be someone who is easily energized or put down by the mood of another. Neptune to Mars can create a volatile person who fights, guards, and pursues based on their inner circle.

Alice: Imagination and Dreams

Personally I tend to associate Alice in Wonderland with Gemini themes. But I’ve seen her used as a metaphor for many placements and influences, such as Scorpio and Pluto. Neptune’s lostness certainly relates to the character and story. Neptune can be the planet of dreams. Challenging aspects to Saturn indicates someone who struggles to get in touch with reality while easy aspects to Saturn indicates someone who can marry big dreams or imagination to practicality.

Neptune to Moon aspects can indicate powerful dreaming - almost intuitive or helpful in processing stress or trauma. So does Neptune in the 12th, 4th, 8th, and possibly 9th. Neptune in the 2nd can mean imagination or even dreams themselves act as a resource, maybe this is through inspiration or increasing one’s belief or confidence. Neptune in the 3rd may find themselves always remembering their dreams and keeping a journal. Neptune in the 5th blessed with all of the fun dreams of flying or dreaming of a favorite fictional character. Neptune in the 6th or 10th may find strikes of inspiration, knowledge, problem solving, or important foresight in their sleep. Neptune in the 11th may find comfort or realize important information about self and/or society in their dreams.

Neptune is a newer planet, many times called the visionary, healer, or spiritual link or messenger. Traditional astrologers can approach the planet with a lot of skepticism. Its exaltation is in creative Leo, detriment in practical Virgo, and fall in usually praised as “visionary” Aquarius. Neptune is still new enough to be a hot topic of debate. You will find many astrologers don’t even agree on the planet’s exaltation, fall, and detriment. Leo is considered one of the most creative sign and on the topic of imagination and dreams Neptune can feel amazing in this sign. It feels confident and shinning in its ideas, fantasies, and magic. Elusive and ever-changing Neptune doesn’t feel comfortable in stable and structured Virgo. But Aquarius is an unexpected challenge for Neptune. Aquarius is about collective action - unity that Neptune also is familiar with. But Aquarius is a cold sign and despite its unconventional side can be highly practical and may dislike unrealistic ideas or approaches. Saturn is Aquarius’s co-ruler after all. Neptune wants oneness as in intimacy, not oneness in action or rebellion like Aquarius. Neptune is the magical moonlit spring to heal all your wounds, especially the emotional and spiritual kind. Aquarius is the soul forge in Asgard from Thor: The Dark World or the hypospray in Star Trek. Aquarius is modern medicine most of the time and when Neptune is dressed in Aquarius’s colors at its best it is advanced medicine we don’t understand yet but are working towards. Neptune in Aquarius can be a genius, but it is about ambitious realism to help others, Neptune at its heart is about helping the individual on the most personal level. Aquarius is random strikes of lightning coming from an active mind while Neptune flows from one spot to another, always connected and coming from an original primal, emotional place. Aquarius is the future, Neptune is outside of time. Aquarius is intellect and Neptune emotions and intuition. Aquarius is rebellion, riot, revolution, Neptune is peace or death and rebirth - Aquarius is the noise and Neptune the silence.

Some believe Neptune’s fall is in Capricorn, which the struggles exist with Capricorn’s strictness and clinging to reality and control. Neptune in Leo is Alice looking regal like a queen or warrior going to fight the jabberwock, Neptune in Virgo can get dark, feeling uncomfortable and maybe in pain, but still important and empowering. Alice in Aquarius or Capricorn is likely a totally new story, adult Alice putting away the tea parties and white rabbits for a lab coat or pantsuit.

What about Healing and the Spiritual?

Let’s get to what Neptune may be most known for. That otherworldly connection, the power of love, transcendence. Neptune is dramatic and it is soothing. Neptune embraces all aspects of the human experience so we can focus more on the soul. Neptune is all about healing and how healing can come in a million ways. It can be fast and hard or slow and revealing. It is painful and messy, it goes in cycles, loops, falls and rises.

Neptune whether the aspects are easy or challenging, whether in a house focused on the self or others, it gives everyone ways to heal and to connect. As an outer planet it gives a lot of insight into generations but in the unique placement of one’s chart it touches us with humanity.

Pretty speeches, enchanting metaphors, crazy nights, and charming lovers lead us to our doom and a raw poem, crying ourselves to sleep, old medicine, late night graveyard walks, and maybe a rebound help us pick up the pieces. Neptune many times shows us that the unexpected is what tears us down and what lifts us back up. It teaches us nothing is inherently bad like substances, manipulation, honesty, authority, it is how it is used. Neptune shows us that you are the hero to some and the villain to others.

Regret, shame, guilt, feeling trapped, isolation, addiction, grief, and sorrow are closely linked to Neptune. I believe many times this is due to the healing process or spiritual associations of the planet. These emotions are heavy and life-changing but they are emotions that many times need to be faced with a lot of bravery and work. They are feelings that also help us come to realizations. Neptune is associated with rebirth and if you examine emotions like regret or shame, sometimes rebirth is the only way you can shed those feelings. Neptune’s fluid nature also allows us acceptance, which is needed to deal with such heavy emotions.

While we always talk about the lack of boundaries as a dangerous or bad thing... and it can be, these lack of boundaries like I mentioned above can allow for a very giving love and empathy, it also allows us to feel or interact with a higher power, magic, and the spiritual. Whatever your beat is - religion, magic, or the belief we are just star stuff, Neptune symbolizes our relationship with it.

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