#in a way that isn’t just a regurgitation of the wiki anyway

[tebbydear-movedblogs]

I DID IT !!

You guys might have seen the original draft where there were a couple mistakes and missing info - here is my updated Nomai ‘family’ tree!! I don’t know what you call it if it’s more than one family. But it’s here !! Now with groupings for their main roles and jobs (of course a lot of people shuffled around - I couldn’t sensibly include, for example, the few that worked on the Attlerock locator etc). I THINK that’s all the main info though!! Pye was really a force, it seems like. There may well also be more out of the older generation who died before the crash.

For Keek: we know Plume lost Keek in the crash, and we know Plume lost a brother in the crash, so it might be logical to assume that these were the same person, but it isn’t 100% confirmed.

This is the intended videogame experience, yes?

EDIT: edited Melorae’s colour because I realised Coleus talks about her in past-tense when discussing the proto-Hearthians.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Actually regarding my last Hatoful post I made, I don’t think enough attention is given to the way Sakuya has been completely un-personed by Le Bel. He’s not only “raised in a sheltered and classist environment”, everything he is is a regurgitation. There is not a single thing Sakuya says in early game that isn’t what his “father” told him to - this doesn’t exactly excuse his behaviour towards his classmates, but it is also very concerning. You would expect Sakuya’s arc to be about the pressure and expectation he feels as the next family head, but while it certainly does seem to be a lot of work, he doesn’t really show much indication that it’s gotten to the point that it’s too much to bear. He handles responsibility very well. He’s just. Unhappy. Sakuya runs away from home in freezing cold weather and collapses in the street, all because he deigned to think about loving music. He hadn’t even come around to thinking about actually pursuing it as a career. This alone seems more like Sakuya hit a breaking point than one isolated incident - there is likely a lot more going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to for Sakuya to be that subservient and that terrified of Le Bel. Hiyoko even internally notes that he’s always acting way angrier than he actually is - anger is a reactive emotion, and if he reacts aggressively, he won’t have to think about these things that challenge the worldview Le Bel has indoctrinated him with. He is literally too frightened to challenge Le Bel, even within his own mind.

Similarly, Yuuya takes on a job that restricts him from forming any semblance of a stable identity or from letting the mask fall. Ever. Sakuya deflects with anger and his high-born reputation, and Yuuya deflects with a flirty laid back persona while allowing everyone he meets to believe every rumour they spread about him. And people treat him horribly. He laughs it off with the whole “that’s a little cold” or “bit harsh” but. Like. It hurts him. I don’t think he’s genuinely ever built up a tolerance against that kind of badmouthing, and the sad part is that the worst of it comes from Sakuya, his own little brother who he would and has done everything for. But he won’t ever refute it or defend himself, because it helps him keep his cover at the school, and also probably in part because he feels he deserves it. Yuuya does not like himself, largely due to his constant guilt. He even doubts his competence at times, when his efforts as an agent fail (see early HoliStar). He has no idea what his future will look like. He has no plans for himself. He acts in defence solely on behalf of other people’s happiness and safety and receives the words of the man he hates most spat in his face by the little brother he would do anything to protect. And yet, to him, it will always have been worth it.

It would’ve been so easy to make them polar opposites but I do love how the writing actually shows a number of key similarities between them that pop up in certain situations.

Their correct answers in their routes typically involve standing up to them or telling them off in some way (Sakuya’s bossiness, Yuuya’s flirtation)

Sometimes make rash decisions due to their anger or irritation (I mean. Sakuya. A lot but also. The egg.)

They are both quick to take on responsibility for others in a crisis situation and tend to handle it fairly well for the most part (rip to Sakuya with the giant tank that showed up at his mansion. to be fair Yuuya couldn’t stop it either.)

Kings of not being honest about their true feelings or personality. Like ever. Masks and defence mechanisms up constantly. (Yuuya is at least a little more self-aware; he does genuinely seem to care about justice - while Sakuya, as stated previously, has very little in the way of an identity at all and is not self-aware in the slightest lol)

Anyways I feel insane about the fantail brothers. That is all.

(Art above is by the author Moa btw. You can find it on the wiki!)

[boxanimal]

On the Anime-Only Arcs

I have been thinking about how the filler arcs in the KHR anime have been defended and/or touted as canon because "Amano supervised/wrote them" which is a claim I constantly see regurgitated, and yet had never seen a source for. So I went looking, and all I found was this official art, cited by the Wiki as evidence of her supervision. (Of course, this post could change a lot if there is any other official source on this topic, so please share with me if you do have one.)

The relevant part is the blurb on the bottom left. And... That isn't what it actually says. The crucial phrase here is "源案協力" ... basically, what Amano contributed to the Arcobaleno Trials arc is stated as "original plan/draft cooperation," which could mean any number of things. Could it mean she played a role in determining the arc composition? Yes. Could it also mean that she had no direct part in it, and simply advised them on the arcobaleno's personalities? Yes. Does it mean she could have supervised the project? Almost certainly not. And if she was the primary person involved with developing the original concept, she would probably have been credited with "源案" (creator, or literally “original plan”) not original plan assistance.

On top of this, she had a manga to write... People seem to underestimate how time-consuming both of these jobs are. The blurb also says nothing of the Primo Family arc, and I couldn't find anything that does, though we can assume she at least gave the writers insight on Daemon's motivations and personality.

It is also worth noting Amano is not formally credited with anything except creation of the source material in regards to the anime.

It is obviously acceptable to synthesize characterization and information from these arcs if you like them; just as with other anime filler, their status as filler does not void their existence. However, I've always found the argument that they are distinctly canon a bit tenuous. It is subjective and depends on your definition of the term, but if "written by Amano" or "Amano had significant creative control" are a part of your definition, the arcs are almost certainly not canon.

Though to me, it's strange to consider them such even if Amano wrote them word for word, since they weren't a part of the manga anyways... If they were so canon, maybe she would have written them to begin with. Maybe their existence would not completely shatter the narrative tension of the main arc. Maybe she would have made it so Tsuna and co. were already familiar with the arcobaleno and Daemon Spade when they meet them in the later arcs.

I digress. If you want to argue that they are canon or otherwise valuable, that's fine, just use an argument other than "Amano definitely had a decent say in what happens in them" because we really have no way of knowing that. (And in general, it would be good if this fanbase would not regularly make claims like this without citing a source and continue to perpetuate common points of misinformation like this one.)

[noneofyourbusiness42]

My progression with Snape is an odd yet insightful one that really opens the eyes and reflects the Harry Potter fandom. I wonder how many entered the fandom in similar ways?

I got majorly into HP when I was about 14 (2013) and, of course, got into the online communities. I wasn't heavily involved (with the online spaces) but became pretty intensely in love with Wolfstar which, in turn, bought me to the main marauder side of the fandom. Along with that came all of the Anti Snape posts you commonly see floating around.

And, of course, like an impressionable 14 year old, I regurgitated all of those posts I saw and spewed all the hateful words an angry traumatised 14 year old has. To the point I ended up passively bullying someone in my maths class/friend group every lesson we had together for loving Snape/Alan Rickman. (Just an edit, we're fine now! Bonded over our love for cats and my stinky cat named Severus)

It wasn't until I was about 16 when I finally broke that spell and realised 'hey, I don't need to be a fucking asshole all the time, and hating things isn't a personality trait ' I decided that maybe I should do a bit of digging into Snape for myself?

When you exist in the HP fandom as only a lurker, you're very quickly conditioned to frown upon 'Snovers' and SnApE DiD nOThInG WrOnG type people of the fandom. The moment you see Snape as anything other than the greasy hateful persona he puts on in the books, you're bullied and casted out from the mainstream fandom. The irony being he is a grey character but viewing him as anything but morally black, you'll be an outcast as quick as you can say SnaPeS aN iNcEl.

Which made it really fucking hard to explore this character A T A L L !

Anyway, when i finally snapped and decided that following the herd was stupid, I skipped off to tumblr (there's only so much wiki can give you,) to investigate Snape and what all the fuss was about. I actually started to roleplay him at the time on an old rp forum, using this opportunity to really deep dive. I figured if I could roleplay as him and not fall in love, then he truly was evil.

I fell down a fucking rabbit hole.

A rabbit hole of shared experiences of trauma, poverty, unfit parents, and school bullies. I fell down the rabbit hole into the world of a man i could truly and utterly relate too. Which made it hard, so fucking hard, to sit there and hate him. And in turn, I started to question, maybe I'm just as awful as him? And do I deserve to meet the same hate as Snape?

Needless to say, the moment you start to view Snape as the beautifully complex rainbow of tones across the grey spectrum, many spaces within the fandom become utterly horrendous to exist in.

I havent been able to enjoy Wolfstar or anything Remus Lupin related in... ages because those parts of the fandom have become unsafe to exist in as someone who appreciates both of these deeply traumatised and flawed characters.

I love the Snapedom because they're inclusive, even when their very own fandom has excluded them.

[anotherramblingfangirl]

After seeing a post, with a comic where Eddie and Symbie try get Xavier to take in their kids to his school, I have actually started wondering if at least two might actually be mutants.

Two of seven - Agony and Sleeper, have chemical manipulation powers of sorts.

Or, to be more specific, as the marvel wiki itself describes this:

Agony:

Metabolic Acid Generation: Agony could also use her metabolism to spit acid, which could burn through most substances, however the full extent or limit and range of her acid projectiles are unknown.

Metabolic Chemical Absorption: Agony could even absorb and redistribute chemicals in different ways, (such as regurgitating Spider-Man's artificial webbing.) This ability has not been shown in any of the other LF symbiotes. 

Sleeper:

Chemokinesis: As a result of its unique biology, the Sleeper symbiote is capable of producing liquid and aerosol chemicals with a variety of effects - including inducing various emotional states, tranquilizing targets, and psychological manipulation. This also affords it a form of telepathy, using pheromones to interject its thoughts into others minds. This also grants it a superior cloaking ability to other symbiotes, generating pheromones to almost-completely mask its presence

Now, for why I’m suspecting they might possibly be mutants and this not a simple, natural klyntar trait?

Well, as said, only 2/7 children showed it for one thing, so it’s not a simple generational “upgrade”

Something made all the more clear by how none of the Venom symbiote’s grandkids showed it either.

But, if they are mutants, how come? Where would such a trait come from?

Well.

Genetic variation in klyntar kids is said to come from a variety of factors, including - notably - the host incubating the baby:

And of course, Eddie Brock isn’t a mutant.

At all. He’s just a guy with an alien spouse who is fuelled by pure determination.

But.

He doesn’t have to be to potentially pass something on that could result in chemokinetic babies, he could be a Type A human:

Someone with the capacity to potentially have some mutant kids, even if not one at all himself.

Think two brown-eyed people having a blue-eyed baby.

There’s also an interesting titbit, about what makes the children of those sort of gene carrying parents more likely to turn out mutants:

“Many mutants have alien legacy and it is sometimes stated that this genetic particularity may be involved in the apparition of the X-Gene in babies“

Alien genetics.

Anyway, even type A humans don’t necessarily have exclusively mutant children - so this “potential but no guarantee” would explain the 2/7 figure.

Anyway, final point: The Venom symbiote gained several abilities from Spider-Man’s DNA, which they then passed on to their offspring too. 

So, if a gene was there in Eddie, there is canonical basis in how that might go on to be passed down to the kids, despite symbiote’s reproducing asexually.

Disclaimer: This is just speculation that I think might be possible. Could very well be wrong.

[boiledleather]

Ok, Sean. I don't know about you, but I'm already tired of arguing with Redditors on the "logic" issues of this season. How do you really feel about the vagueness of time in Beyond The Wall? Your voice seems to be in the minority with regards to the enthusiasm for the season. Personally, I think the pedants are overstating their case. As a long time watcher, this season is the first to feel truly epic from its start which I'm enjoying. What's your take on the whole Snag-A-Wight scenario, anyway?

Oh gosh. Back on July 31 I tweeted “Game of Thrones criticism will get more picayune, joyless, and uncompromising the closer we get to the ending & the bigger it becomes,” and I think that’s definitely turned out to be the case. There are many reasons for that  — not all of them organic. For example, this week in particular, Game of Thrones is the biggest business going on any pop-culture website; there’s literally nothing you can write about the show that won’t do huge numbers for the site, so the sites keep cranking them out, about every conceivable bone of contention or crackpot theory one could have. I’m in a position where I don’t have to participate, fortunately. (I actually turned down a paid gig to avoid being part of the problem.)

But it’s also a case of a pernicious tendency in TV criticism, which is the way so many critics (professional and amateur) line up behind a single idea and run with it as the conventional wisdom about a show. It’s much easier to regurgitate a complaint or plaudit you’ve heard elsewhere than to dig into a work yourself and see what you come up with – the template’s been established, you know there’s a readymade network of support for your idea, etc etc. Again, this isn’t entirely organic: TV critics are exposed to so much TV that they tend to overreact to novelty, which leads them to look for reasons to reject whatever the last big thing was and latch on to the new one. The problem with GoT is that it’s so unbelievably popular that they can’t quite quit it, which is a reason why the time-frame criticism has caught on. “Game of Thrones is misogynist” didn’t manage to dent the show’s viewership or that viewership’s interest in reading anything you can type about it, which means TV critics and pop-culture journalists have to keep covering it, which means they have to think of a new reason why it’s bad. (I know, I know, these are all generalizations, but they’re hard-earned through years in the field; I know I’m considered a GoT stan now lol, but I could make similar arguments about many, many other shows.)

Anyway, I also wrote on twitter about the timeframe issue in particular. Here’s how I see it.

The snarky, grumpy response is that people who complain about raven/dragon speed in Game of Thrones should spend their days calculating Santa Claus’s mph and leave art to adults. "By making me guess how long everything took to happen, the filmmakers violated their prime obligation: mileage.“ Go edit a wiki, you rubes.

Ah, I kid because I love. Now for the less rude answer:

The end of the kind of story Game of Thrones is telling requires massive, effects-heavy battles with zombies, dragons, huge armies, et cetera. The time and money required to pull this off in anything even close to a TV-show format and schedule means fewer episodes per year. Once that decision’s made, you have to prioritize how you spend your ever more precious screentime, especially when certain big points must be hit. So the creators chose to deemphasize the slog ‘n’ grind of travel and the remoteness of characters’ goals. (Which I loved! But oh well.) They’ve switched to time jumps that make travel look relatively quick & easy, which both saves screentime and builds up a sense of momentum and urgency—all equally valuable as we head to the climax.

Is the transition from the status quo ante inelegant at times? Yes, obviously. But the logic behind it and the value of it seem easy to grasp, to me. So when I sit down to write about an Game of Thrones now, it’s hard for me, personally, to imagine focusing on the speed/time issue. It’s a rich set of images, ideas, and characters on a literally unprecedented scale for TV. There’s plenty else to like or dislike there. 

That said, I share some complaints, to be honest. Regarding the time issue specifically: Simply for dramatic purposes, I would have liked the show to have emphasized how long Jon & company were stranded on that island—some fades to show passage of time, dialogue about how cold & hungry they are, make ‘em look extra haggard, that kind of thing. But to me that’s about one sentence’s worth of criticism (I just wrote it), not an essay, let alone the main thrust of how I interact with the show now. 

As for the snag-a-wight plan…I mean, look, that’s not a great plan. Nor is having a summit, or any kind of meeting at all, like brunch, with Cersei Lannister in King’s Landing. But y’know, Luke was more upset about Obi-Wan than Leia was about her entire planet, The Godfather’s baptism montage only showed Moe Greene and three of the rival family heads rather than four, you can’t blow up an oxygen tank in a shark’s mouth with a rifle, the Woodsmen look totally different in Fire Walk With Me and Twin Peaks Season Three, radioactive spiders give you cancer not spider-powers, yadda yadda yadda. The point is that if a work of narrative fiction is providing enough compensatory value, you can overlook any number of plot holes or storytelling fumbles. I get that Game of Thrones is not doing that for some people, but that’s been the case since literally day one. The idea that it’s suddenly crossed some Rubicon into Shit Land may be true for some, but it is not a truth universally acknowledged.