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brigdh · 7 months

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Okay. My thoughts on the Our Flag Means Death finale. Obviously I'm not very happy with the ending, though I'm also not as upset as some people are. I would say I'm discontent. Unsatisfied. Too aware of how it could have been improved, and a bit bitter that we didn't get a better version, but I also don't hate what we did get.

I know a lot of meta has attributed the problems to a shorter season, and absolutely I would have loved to get 10 episodes instead. I would have loved 22 episodes! Why don't we do that anymore? But I don't think the 8 episode length was the ultimate problem. A) The showrunner and writers knew they had only 8 episodes, so they needed to choose a story that fit into that length, but even more importantly, B) my problem is not that they had too much story for too little time, but actually that they had plenty of time and chose to fill it with too little story.

As I've sat with it over the last few days and thought more about the season's arc, it feels to me like we got eight episodes of filler. Filler episodes can be great! Filler episodes can have some of the funniest lines, the greatest scenes, the most intriguing ideas. But filler episodes do not progress character arcs or major themes, and that's exactly the problem this season had.

The only characters who got arcs this season are Izzy, and to a lesser and more rushed extent, Lucius. Which sure is a choice.

Ed and Stede and their relationship did not meaningfully change from S1. (Okay, yes, they had sex, they said I Love You – but these are external changes, not internal. They don't represent character growth. Stede realized he loved Ed and was telling everyone back in 1x10. Ed clearly would have slept with him in S1 if they'd had a little more time.) Ed and Stede in 2x08 are not different from who they are in 2x01. If Ed had asked Stede to be innkeepers in 2x01, does anyone think Stede wouldn't have immediately agreed? One of the big moments in 2x08 is Ed reading a letter that Stede wrote in 2x01! Stede's exact words from the very beginning of the season! What better way to underline that none of the subsequent seven episodes had important growth or changes?

Another one of 2x08's big shippy moments is Ed and Stede running to each other across a beach – deliberately paralleling the dream Stede had in 2x01. What are we supposed to take from this parallel? My original thought was that we're supposed to see how different the real version is from the dream, but there's honestly not many differences. Neither one has a beard, now? The dream mocked how Stede knew they needed to have a conversation about their relationship that he wanted to avoid, but they don't have a conversation in the "real" version either. They exchange about two sentences (which includes Ed's I Love You, yes, which is a big deal but still isn't a conversation) and then they charge right back into the fight, without discussing anything like Ed abruptly dumping Stede to go be a fisherman, Stede killing Ned Low when Ed asked him not to, their differences of opinion on being pirates, if having sex was a mistake or if that's only a thing Ed said because he was panicking, etc etc. They have just as many issues to address as they did in the dream, but just like the dream they act like everything is magically okay without talking about it!

So I think we're meant to take the beach-run parallels as "here's what Stede's been wanting, and after waiting for so long he finally gets it". Which is fine, a very sweet take-away for a finale. But it underlines what I'm saying is the problem of the season: Stede has just been waiting for eight episodes for his dream to come true. Not changing. Not growing. Not doing anything to bring the dream about, other than trying to get himself and Ed into the same physical location. Just... waiting.

This is an extra surprising development, because the show was really good at giving Ed and Stede character arcs in S1! Ed and Stede in 1x10 are significantly different than they were in their first introductions. Also, just to preempt some criticism, by 'progressing' I do not mean 'wrap up literally every loose end and make a firm final ending' – S1's finale is an excellent example of both moving the characters forward and leaving a ton of room for future stories. I wasn't expecting for 2x08 to show us a Stede and Ed who were perfectly on the same page and would never again have a problem. I was expecting them to be somewhat different than they were in 2x01, and I just don't see that.

Instead of arcs, we got little pieces of single-episode growth here and there that never added up to an overall whole. The season brought up a ton of potential arcs for Ed – violence, piracy, guilt, suicide, daddy issues, self-loathing, apologies, redemption, his tendency to idealize escaping into a different life – but didn't do anything with any of these options. Stede had nothing resembling a season arc at all.

Stede works to improve as a captain! Stede kills someone and has regrets! Stede confronts Ed's dark side! <- All potential arcs, but none of which lasted for more than an episode or had consequences. We don't even know what the ending means for Stede: does he want to be an innkeeper because he failed as a pirate in 2x07? Because piracy was always just a displaced search for love, and now that he has love, he doesn't need piracy? What does the crew of the Revenge leaving mean to him? Stede's understanding of their new arrangement literally happens off-screen and we're left to fumble at guesses for its significance to him as an individual.

Ed and Stede's last big conversation in the season is their break-up fight in 2x07, which is a shocking way to send off your main couple in a rom-com. Yes, there's the I Love You on the beach (again: two sentences) and the brief 'let's try to be innkeepers' conversation at the very end, but that's it for them in 2x08, except for their inclusion in some brief large group conversations about their fighting skills and the plan for escaping the British. How can you end your rom-com with the main couple exchanging only a paragraph's worth of dialogue in the finale? None of the stuff was brought up in the fishing fight in 2x07 is ever addressed at all!

Again, I don't think this is solely a matter of time crunch. Instead of using the eight episodes to progress the two main characters, we got a bunch of filler episodes that used the time in amusing side tangents instead of forward progress. I don't think that's the inevitable result of having to work with eight episodes.

Look, I can come up with a better Ed/Stede relationship arc without needing more episodes, and despite only thinking about this for a couple days and not having an entire writing room to work with:

(Note: this only addresses the Ed/Stede relationship. It doesn't fix Stede completely lacking an independent character arc and Ed having about ten thousand of them, none of which went anywhere.)

In 2x05 to 2x07, I would make Ed's motivations in their relationship very clearly that he's pushing Stede away so he doesn't get hurt again. Basically play up Ed's comment about "I was all in" in 2x04, and make him determined not to get 'all in' this time around. This aligns the "let's take it slow" conversation in 2x05, the "sex was a mistake" in 2x06, and Ed running away to be a fisherman in 2x07 into a single arc. He wants Stede, but he's afraid of what that wanting will do to him. He's trying to find a way to have a relationship without making himself vulnerable. He keeps pushing off commitment and openness.

Then, in 2x08, I'd make it more explicit that Ed thinks/fears Stede is dead when he sees the pirate ships burning. I think it's subtext in the episode as-is, but give him a line or two to make it really clear. Ed and Stede still see each other on the beach, have their dramatic run to each other, and Ed says, "I love you". Now this moment is Ed acknowledging his love, exactly what he's been avoiding for the last three episodes.

Near the end of the episode, Ed and Stede have a conversation where Ed says something like, "I didn't want to get hurt again, I was afraid of the risk of falling in love and you leaving again, but thinking you were dead made me realize that never loving you would be worse" (but better written, ha, this is a tumblr post that's already too long). (Also possibly you could tie in Izzy's death here to underline both Ed and Stede not wanting to lose another person they care about, if we must have that plot point for some reason.) We actually get to see Ed asking Stede to come be innkeepers with him, paralleling asking him to run away to China (and paralleling NOT asking Stede to a fisherman), Stede voices some of his worries (paralleling him keeping them inside in 1x09, but also giving him a chance to explain what piracy and love mean to him and why he'd give up one for the other), but ultimately they agree that they at least want to try.

This both puts them into a much clearer place for a happy ending, has clear growth from S1 and the beginning of this season, but also leaves open a ton of room for S3, because welp, it turns out trying to have a relationship entails all sorts of problems! Especially with these two. It also would make me feel like they'd at least addressed some of the issues between them.

Right now I feel like S3 will have to spend at least the first few episodes running through exactly the same "don't talk – break up – get back together dramatically" arc that Stede and Ed have already done twice but have never discussed and never learned from. I liked it, but I don't need to see it yet again. That will – ironically – feel like yet more wasted time, more episodes that are just churning through beats without moving the characters forward. I wanted them to have new, different fights in S3, but now I don't even feel like they've made enough progress to have a fresh set of problems.

#ofmd meta #our flag means death #ofmd 2x08 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd critical #(I guess)

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denaliwrites · 7 months

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f i c m a s t e r l i s t

p o l i c i e s (please read before making requests!)

b a d s a m a r i t a n The Best of You, Honey, Belongs to Me Blackthorn Cover Myself in the Ashes of You Dumb Ways To Die Enough of You to Dull the Pain (18+) Hellbent Looking For A Godsend Hit Me With Your Best Shot I Got This Feeling On A Summer Day (18+) I'm Gooey in the Middle Baby Let Me Bake In His Eyes A Flaming Glow Intrigued and Afraid Keep You Like An Oath (18+) Killing Me Softly My Baby Shot Me Down (18+) Not Much Between Despair and Ecstasy (18+) Only Touch That Gets Me Melting (18+) Run Rabbit Run (18+) Say My Name Send a Thousand Kings Away Shia Surprise Something Good to Celebrate Stop, Look and Listen, It's Halloween! Taste of a Poison Paradise Trust in Me, Just in Me With Your Scars and Your Lonely Heart Your Body's a Secret Girl and You're About to Spill It (18+)

t h e b o y s Watch That Butcher Burn

b r o a d c h u r c h Always Leave Me With a Hungry Heart Am I Doing This Right? An Art to Life's Distractions Beating Like A Kick Drum Catch & Release Girls Like Girls Like Boys Do It's Been a Long, Long Time Love's Perfect Ache Now and Again We Try to Just Stay Alive Regale You With A Gourd-geous Tale Say You'll Remember Me Say You'll Remember Me (Denali's Version) Tell Me It's A Nightmare

d o c t o r w h o Cuddle, Meet Puddle Cute Things Don't Blink (Part 1) Don't Turn Your Back (Part 2) Don't Look Away (Part 3) Dreams See Us Through (Part 4) Hate the Feeling of Falling Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Horrible Things Isn't That Wizard It's How I'm Made Let Me Come Home Little Creepy House On the Brave Shit The Origin of (Love Bug) Species What Beautiful Things I'll Wear When the Crypt Doors Creak You Know That I Would Jump Too

d u c k t a l e s Tales of Daring

g o o d o m e n s All I Want For Christmas Aziraphale's Favorite Author Dance on a Tightrope of Weird Free as My Hair His Love is All in Me How the Wine Plays Tricks on My Tongue Lockdown Blues Making Biscuits My Heart's a Stereo Naked in That Garden (18+) Out There Making DuckTales Pickin' Up the Pieces of the Mess You Made Road to Hell Something Meaty For The Main Course Step Too Far Tongue Tied Your Love is Holy (18+)

f a l l o f t h e h o u s e o f u s h e r Tomorrow I Shall Be Fetterless (18+)

f r i g h t n i g h t Emptiness to Melody Everybody Scream in Our Town of Halloween Fixed Up to the Nines Howl Like an Animal in the Darkness I'm So Hot I'd Fuck Myself (18+) I'm Starvin', Darlin', Let Me Put My Lips to Somethin' Late Night Devil Put Your Hands On Me (18+) Make Me Glow Night of Long Fangs (18+) Parade of Dancing Skeletons Talk So Pretty (18+) Who Are You Supposed To Be, Criss Angel? (18+)

h a u n t i n g o f b l y m a n o r ???

j u r a s s i c p a r k / w o r l d Best Behavior The Future Ex Mrs. Malcolm

p r o d i g a l s o n But Then My Stupid Phone Beeps Never Fallen From Quite This High Office Supplies Rude Boy They are the Hunters, We are the Foxes Trigger Happy With a Sense of Poise (18+)

#denali writes #masterlist #broadchurch #doctor who #good omens #fright night #bad samaritan #prodigal son #reader insert #fanfic #alec hardy x reader #tenth doctor x reader #aziraphale x reader #crowley x reader #peter vincent x reader #cale erendreich x reader #martin whitly x reader #michael sheen #david tennant

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kirchefuchs · 5 months

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a random day dream for you if you'd like.

Imagine A: Tinky himself can go in and out of the box to mess with Ted and any Spankoffski inside as he pleases.

B: he can somehow carry the box while inside the box. For everyone BUT Tinky, that box could also be the key out. Or at least it's rumored to be by those inside.

C: As basically a time god, the moment someone makes the decision to do something, Tinky could potentially see it coming if he's focused enough.

Imagine one day while messing with however many different timelines of Ted in the box, one version of Ted actually got bold. Instead of running, he tries to get the drop on Tinky to get the box and fails. But Tinky's amused enough by the attempt he makes a new game out of it. Basically "take this pebble from my hand" with the energy of roommates fighting over the remote. After many failed attempts (cause of course one of the only moments Tinky actively uses this kinda time sight is when he's messing with someone.) Ted gets desperate enough to decide the only weapon he's got left...is the ol Spankoffski charm. This time he reaches not for the box, but Tinky himself and pulls him into a kiss.

The moment Tinky sees it coming catches him off guard enough that the moment it happens, he's a flustered mess twice in a row. Like brain sounds like dial up for a good long minute even after Ted pulls back and runs with the box in his hands.

It may very well have been the moment Ted went from favorite toy to Tinky's hopeless crush. And then the moment after, the realization that his box is missing would send Tinky after that Ted like a bat outta hell.

Just the most out of nowhere daydream I ever got that I thought you might appreciate.

This took up 2 whole pages in my sketchbook, but I had to draw it. I couldn't stop thinking about this since you sent this ask

Anyways, I love this and I love you so much, this is amazing and you are brilliant. This is canon in the little tinkoffski story in my brain now. This is 100% what kicks it all off. I feel like Tinky would run off to Stopwatch after this to ask about what it in the world emotions are, cuz he's the only human he'd be willing to talk to. After all, he couldn't go to his brothers about it cuz A: they wouldn't know either and B: they'd 10000% judge him for it, or worse. From then on Tinky starts going to Daniel whenever he needs help with human issues and slowly but surely starts learning how to be less evil, lol

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psychwxrdd · 3 months

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Hiii! Can you please do one where you are at a party and Rafe is your boyfriend, and you accidentally kiss/ fall asleep on another guy, and when you and Rafe get home he hurts the reader so bad that her face is full of blood or something like that? You can make it as dark as possible!!!!!

i loved your request baby! so i decided to mix all of these at once, lmk if you liked it or want a part two!!

gone girl

summary: you're so much happier now that you're dead.

everyone can start again, not through love, but through revenge.

warnings: domestic violence, dark rafe, she is just like amy dunne!!!! i love writing about unhinged girls soooo much yall have no idea

Sarah got the journal in hands, staring at John B in fear of what they might find. It was Y/n journal. Their missing friend's journal.

I was hiding inside the closet, desperatedly trying to stop crying. My whole body was shaking, i knew that Rafe was above mad at me. The guy of my dreams, the love of my life. I knew he was about to hurt me real bad.

"Y/n!" he shouted, making me close my eyes and pray to a god i didn't even believed in. I covered my mouth, trying to stay quiet, but it was impossible.

He punched the door of the room several times, and all i could think of doing was whisper to myself that it was all going to be fine, that maybe heaven did exist and i would finally see all my loved ones again. Thats when he shouted again.

"I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK, YOU HEAR ME? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

I softly placed my hands on my face, covered in blood. The blood was coming from my forehead, making a mess, my clothes were full of it. All started when i drank a bit too much and started acting like a normal person. Talking, smiling to people, making new friends. Rafe hated it.

Rafe wanted me all to himself. He didn't wanted me to interact with the outside world, it was already hard enough to convince him to let me go with him to this party... He hated seeing me happy if it wasn't for him. Maybe not happy at all, anywhere.

He would freak out for the smallest reasons. I even considered his actions reasonable at the first ones, but now, he really just wanted any excuse to hurt me. He saw me as his personal punch bag. His pretty doll to brag, have sex with and take his anger out. Nothing more. It wasn't like i even existed to him.

I knew i had to do something, but i couldn't. I swear it takes the strench of a god to set boundaries and respect yourself when you're someone like me and you're in love with someone like Rafe. So i just let him. And look at what this has lead me to.

Sarah had her eyes full of tears, John B hugged her. She knew it from the beggining, her brother murdered her friend. They all knew it.

It all started when i showed up at Midsummer's party. Being the new shy and sweet girl makes people create their own versions of you, the versions they want to. You're nothing but a blank paper for them to draw. You're whatever they want you to be, especially when they're rich fuckers.

It's so easy to trick people into believing your new lies of a life. You just need some stupid girl to be your friend; I got Sarah. She liked me so much for "who i was." People will love you when you don't stand for yourself, they love it when you're quiet and just let them vent and talk about themselvs for hours. It wasn't hard for Sarah to trust me and allow me in her life.

Then you have to act like you're a dumb whore, for guys like Rafe to fall in love with you. They just love a bitch with no brain, someone they can feel like they have the full control of. Pretend you're so sweet they can't help but crave you as their trophy.

Rafe had his eyes on me since i walked into that stupid party. Full of shallow, sad people hiding behind those ugly dresses and suits. All women like me, pretending for their husbands, who were also putting on a masculine performance. For who?

"You know i'll take care of you for the rest of my life, right?" He asked me, between groans, still inside me "You're mine, nothing will change that"

And i smiled, as the sweet and submissive girl i was to him. Nodding my head. I wasn't bothered by anything he did because i had his money. I was getting something out of this. I was being paid to act, he just didn't knew it.

Then he started acting phisically abusive. Well, that wasn't part of my deal. And he was no longer giving me money, as he started a theory about how i wanted to keep this money to runaway and start a family with some pogue, JJ of course. He was some creative piece of shit, but i had my good laughing.

He started being obsessive about this JJ topic after i pushed him away in a fight, after Maybank was mentioned. He couldn't believe his sweet girl would disrespect him like this. She always behaved, always let him hit her to teach her some manners, why was JJ suddenly a trigger?

I knew exactly how insecure Rafe was. How he used violence to hide how small and stupid he felt inside. And i knew how much jealousy could drive him insane.

He stared at me with wide eyes.

"Yo- you just... You fucking mad cause i'm talking about JJ? Is this what it is?"

"No Rafe, it is not. You're acting crazy"

"Don't fucking tell me i'm crazy!" He pointed his finger at my face.

"I didn't said you are crazy, i said you're acting crazy"

He slapped me. Hard.

"Fix that tone to talk to me"

I stared at him for seconds before i let tears fall from my eyes. Slowly coming closer and doing the best puppy eyes i could ever. "I'm so sorry daddy, you know i love and respect you more than anything. I just want you to trust me. It hurts me that you would ever think i want anyone else when everything about me belongs to you"

His eyes softned at that, and he sighed. He felt weak. His hands went through his face and hair, anxiously.

"My princess...I'm so sorry." he hugged you. "You make me crazy, fuck. I just love you so much it turns into this. It's sick."

And i faked it so real, i was beyond fake.

"It's okay" i reassured, caressing his back. "I love this part of you, too"

His eyes were tearing up, he smiled.

"Say it again."

"I love this part of you too"

And there he was. The scared boy who just needed love. The pathetic little boy who never had attention or love from neither of his parents. The fuck boy who saw girls as mere objects to warm his dick for a while. The tough guy who punched everyone that slightly bothered him. The elitist son of a bitch. I got him.

"I wanted to make a surprise for you tonight" I smiled, cupping his face with my hands. Staring at him like i loved him unconditionally. "Can you come home after 9?"

He kissed me.

"Course, baby"

I'm so much happier now that i'm dead. Now that Rafe killed me.

I got everything i needed, his money. Not all of his money, just what i really needed. Half of it. I dye my hair a different color, a new haircut. Some different clothes i usually didn't wear, and here am i. In my way to the other side of the country. Leaving my journal and blood at his house. Making sure not only everyone would have sure that he murdered me, but my ghost would haunt him forever. He would never be able to know what happened, and how he killed me in the literal way. I didn't cared if he would rot in jail or not, he would die of insanity at some point. I can say that i killed for him. Who else can say that?

#rafe cameron #outer banks #x reader #rafe x reader #rafe obx #rafe outer banks #rafe x y/n #rafe x you #rafe cameron x reader #drew starkey #drew starkey x reader

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allwaswell16 · 9 months

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All the One Direction fics I read and enjoyed in August 2023. You can listen to my podcast to hear me talk about each of these fics as well as an overview of what was posted on ao3 including the fics on this month’s fic roundup which you can find here! Please let the writers know if you liked the fics by leaving kudos and comments! Happy reading!

Fanfictional Podcast #53 | ko-fi | fic recs

—Louis/Harry—

🌴 De amore ex tempore by @persephoneflouwers

(M, 101k, historical) the Middle Ages AU where Harry is a philosopher, whose thoughts happen five centuries too soon and Louis is a painter, whose art happens five centuries too late. & Or: the Time Travel AU where alternate versions of themselves live simultaneously in different realities and their paths collide every time, until somehow, they converge into one.

🌴 Gemma's Dad (Could Use A Guy Like Me) by @lululawrence

(NR, 82k, age difference) Louis wasn't planning on getting home and learning that Gemma's dad had gotten the house in the divorce and was dealing with things by focusing on work, the house, and his newly planted garden. It becomes obvious early on that Harry is a bit lost and Gemma is worried about him. To help both of them, Louis is more than happy to help Harry find himself again.

🌴 We Don't Need No Piece of Paper (From the City Clerk) by @2tiedships2

(M, 26k, a/b/o) In a matter of months, he would be bonded to an alpha his dad had chosen for him. Someone that Harry knew nothing about. Not even his name.

🌴 you give me feelings that i adore by @alwaysxlarrie

(T, 7k, a/b/o) 5 times Louis scents Harry's things and the 1 time Harry returns the gesture.

🌴 A Social Construct by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(E, 7k, established relationship) Five times Harry and Louis try to lose their virginity and one time they finally do. Part 4 of Swallow My Words

🌴 Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by @kingsofeverything

(E, 6k, Texas) Louis heard the same rumours in London, New York, and L.A., and he put them all to rest, but in Texas? Series Part 7 of Tiny Penis Fics

🌴 Trying to Find the Words (To Say For Ages) by @insightfulinsomniac

(E, 6k, uni au) As best friends and roommates, it’s really not a big deal when their on-campus housing provides Harry and Louis with an unusual, intimate bathroom arrangement.

🌴 Come All Ye by @justanothershadeofblue

(E, 6k, historical) It's the summer of 1971, and Louis just wants to get out of town for a minute or a day. When his buddy Zayn says they should head down south and check out this radical new music festival, Louis is only too happy to agree.

🌴 Every Bit of Mine by skipper / @skipperxao3

(M, 3k, dark) Harry is an enigma. Louis still loves him.

🌴 every night with us (is like a dream) by moon_rose25 / @darkinfinity

(T, 2k, famous/not famous) A look into the life of a professional football player dating a physical therapist.

🌴 Everything Is Batter With You by red_panda28 / @red-pandaaa

(T, 2k, established relationship) Harry comes across a fun baking TikTok and convinces Louis to do it

🌴 No (Birth) Control by @haztobegood

(E, 2k, a/b/o) An unfortunate situation left Harry without contraceptives a day before his heat.

🌴 in my head we can love forever by @beardyboyzx

(E, 1k, girl direction) Harry might be a bit in love with her roommate.

🌴 Nights Like These, We'll Remember by @fallingdefenceless

(T, 1k, meet cute) Louis and Harry meet at a summer music festival and sparks fly.

—Rare Pairs—

🌴 The Light Out In The Madness (Hold Tight) by @lalalaartje

(E, 46k, Niall/Louis) When Louis ends up with Niall as a roommate after a messy break up with Harry, he considers it truly life saving. They become fast friends and while Louis is sceptical about Niall's idea to start fake dating to take revenge on Harry, it can't be that bad, can it?

🌴 Ask Him by LinksLipsSinkShips / @fxckingprincesspark

(T, 2k, Niall/Lewis Capaldi) When Lewis Capaldi gets pressed for information on who he's dating, he admits it... he's been seeing Niall Horan. The only problem? He jokes so much that no one believes him.

#28th appreciation #ficrec #1dficvillage #trackinghappily #trackinghome #tracksintheam #hltracks #1dsource

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thankskenpenders · 6 months

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I feel like a recent years have shown that fan reaction has influenced the way Sega handles Sonic in some ways. Frontiers for example in a lot of ways feels like a reaction to complain. So a lot of fans have had about mainline Sonic games.

With that said what do you think about Sega making a multi-character 3D action game Sonic and then slapping it on a platform that has some of the least amount of player reach despite being a mainline platform?

I would be very curious to know more about the development behind Dream Team for sure, but as far as I'm aware the game was more than likely made specifically for Apple Arcade from the very start with heavy involvement from Apple, rather than being a project Sega was shopping around that just so happened to end up as an Apple exclusive.

I have to assume that this game would not exist at all if it wasn't an Apple Arcade project. Hardlight is very much Sega's mobile game division first and foremost, so it's unlikely (if not impossible) that Sega would've had them working on a 3D Sonic platformer for consoles and PC when that's Sonic Team's job. And Apple Arcade's subscription revenue is basically the only home for mobile games that aren't chock full of ads, microtransactions, and wait timers these days. So while it could theoretically get ported elsewhere in the future, it's unlikely that Dream Team ever would've gotten made for any other platform.

Like, there are already two Sonic games on Apple Arcade. Sonic Racing (based off of TSR) was one of the earliest releases for the service and has always been heavily promoted as one of Apple Arcade's flagship games. Later they also did Sonic Dash+, a version of the existing endless runner game with the ads and microtransactions stripped out. I have to assume that these games have done well on Apple Arcade, and Apple simply looked at that and went "Hey, what if we got them to make us an ORIGINAL Sonic game?" Apple Arcade also appeals pretty heavily to parents who want their kids to have something to play on their iPads that isn't cram full of microtransactions, and Sonic remains extremely popular with kids.

But beyond that, why they landed on a full 3D platformer with SIX playable characters, some amount of story, and a new style of level design that takes some influence from skate parks? Who knows. Maybe some folks at Sega Hardlight were just dying to make something like that, and the Apple gig was their opportunity to make it happen after so many years being stuck working on glorified Skinner boxes. Or maybe Apple thought a 3D platformer would be good to diversify their portfolio. Again, I'd be very curious to learn more

(Also, honestly, as annoyed as I am that I have to play Dream Team on my iPad instead of my PC or a console, I do find the talking point that "no one will be able to play it" extremely silly. There are billions of iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, and to a lesser extent Apple TVs out there. Billions. With a B. Apple Arcade reportedly had over 100 million users last year. That's quadruple the number of subscribers Game Pass had, even though if you asked the average gamer they'd probably assume Game Pass was the more popular one! Exclusivity is always frustrating, and I sympathize with folks annoyed that they don't have any devices that can play it, but the fandom deciding that "only six people will be able to play this" is completely divorced from reality.)

#dustybins #ask #tkp asks

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mynonclicheblog · 1 year

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As a Benvi truther I am LOSING IT over the implications of a D/B moment to mirror D/P in 2x09! Even more so because this scene is part of the prom ep (4x09); same episode number, same romcom trope, different boy. It feels like a full-circle moment that's perfectly set up to juxtapose Daxt0n one last time.

It's a direct callback to Devi's "old dream", which was massively important for her growth, yet it's being refreshed with new context to pave the way into her new life. Her new dream.

Based on Ben & Devi's facial expressions, I get the feeling that a heavy yet gratifying conversation is about to take place. I think that's one of the reasons I'm so feral over this being a parallel to Paxton in season 2, because that would mean we're looking at something like:

S2 // Paxton sneaking in through Devi's window (for secret, "steamy" makeout sessions)

S4 // Ben climbing in through Devi's window (to lie in bed together and discuss their feelings)

The tonal difference there, everything it MEANS- it makes me want to claw at the walls. NHIE loooves to play with Ben vs Paxton dichotomies and that's what this reads as to me. If my hunch is indeed correct, then instead of being used in conjunction with The Thing She Wants (a hot boyfriend), a boy climbing through her window is now reframed to coincide with The Thing She Needs (emotional vulnerability).

Ben isn't just doing this to hook up and be cute.

He's doing it to talk.

And for Devi- whose teenage ambitions have been all about chasing a high, both in her social and romantic life- mature emotional honesty with someone who can meet her there is a perfect conclusion to her arc. Say what you will about Benvi's situational miscommunication (u buffoons), but when it comes to matters of the heart, Ben has never been willing to let things slide under the radar. And that is exactly what Devi "Firecracker" Vishwakumar needs in a partner to help her stay balanced.

From the very beginning, Ben has always been the presence that holds her accountable and challenges her to do better. Devi is the protagonist of Never Have I Ever. The endgame narrative is always, always going to favor what is best for HER development, and the audience should, too! Whether that means ending with Ben or ending with something more independent, we should be rooting for Devi to embrace whatever pushes her to blossom into the best version of herself.

(And time and time again, that person has been Ben.)

#never have i ever #benvi #ben x devi #devi x ben #devi vishwakumar #ben gross #nhie spoilers #analysis post #this might be premature speculation but hot damn i'm excited about the concept #*success

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yanderecandystore · 11 months

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Hi I'm brazilian, sorry if my english is wrong. But I can order a yan with a sweet wizard boy where he lives in a house made of candy and attracts people for him to devour, I don't know if you've read the story of the brother grimms, of Hansel and Gretel (or Br: João e Maria). How about this concept?

I'm so sorry but I struggled with this one so bad, I made so many versions of this but always fucked up at the candy house part 💀 (I couldn't imagine how to write the reader getting inside, or even finding it even though it was supposed to be the most obvious part lmao) It's very short 👉👈

Also lmao your English is great boo, welcome to the candy store, thank you for sharing with me this idea! It was actually pretty funny how challenging I thought it was X'D

TW/Tags: a little sadistic/more dehumanizing yandere // mentions of: weird/abusive family dynamics; cannibalism; drugging; kidnapping; gore; severed body parts; the usual yandereness although without the soft/lovey fluff I usually write // delusional (he is as sweet as someone who who eats humans could be- I want to write more but I kept messing up so much I died ⚰️)

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Pumpkin Pie [Yandere!M!Cannibal!Wizard/Witch x GN!Reader - Scenario (?)]:

You were having tea inside a colorful house, your vision was very blurry and your ears felt clogged, and to make things harder to understand there was a heavy and pretty mixed up smell of sweets and candies, overwhelming your nostrils… You don't remember when or how you got in, or why, but the tea was nice so you kept drinking.

You were having a nice time with a stranger who you don't really remember the name of… He wore a weird suit for your town's weather, actually it was just off in general… But you thought it looked nice…

He smiled at you blissfully, clearly having a good time… You felt like you were having a good time as well… You like to think so.

Okay, to be honest you couldn't feel a single thing, your legs were numb and you felt like your head was way too heavy to move it around. You barely felt awake at all. So you just assumed it was probably a strange dream, after all you didn't know this man, right?!

He was talking to you… You didn't understand what he was saying, the smell of something tasty was being baked… Pumpkin pie maybe…? How long have you gone without one of those? Your father didn't like how much sugar you ate, so you were restricted to only a few sweets… But he probably wouldn't be mad about one slice of pumpkin pie, right?

The man patted your head endearingly as he smiled at you, he seemed to not care much about how you weren't paying attention at all… You thought that was sweet of him considering you were always considered an airhead by your family.

… Speaking of them- Shouldn't you go home soon? I mean, this is very pleasant and all but you don't remember how long you've been here and the things that happened beforehand feel like a blur… Your family had a curfew and you didn't want to get in trouble again for breaking it.

Ah, but what could you do? You were just so curious about the forest beside the mansion. You secretly hoped to see fairies or anything magical whenever you went there, ah, how wonderful it was to escape your responsibilities as middle child for at least a few moments.

Sure, your family was wealthy, a lot better than most people in town, but you wished you didn't have to stay inside all day… Your older siblings would get to work with the family mine business while your younger siblings got to play and study all day long, and you? You were sort of the second servant of the house, there were many expectations placed on you and not enough attention to your interests and dreams…

You already miss Ms. Bell, she is such a nice lady and sadly your only friend in a big almost always empty mansion. Actually, you're not even all that bothered about being a "second servant" because you actually like helping her out.

Ah, sweet Bell… She always told you to be careful out in the woods, people would often go missing, especially people who have zero expertise about finding their way in and out… Ms. Bell, always so caring and wise… If only your family listened to you more like she does…!

While you kept drifting into different topics inside your own head, your vision was starting to come back to you and your ears seemed to get better after a while… Your head was still very heavy and it aches as you look around and notice- This guy has a weird taste for decor! Seriously, there's candy everywhere!! Actually… Was everything MADE out of candy?! What the hell?

Wait, you can hear humming, you can hear him better now, he is singing a nice tune as he gets up and takes care of the pie in his oven.

"You're finally awake, or at least more awake now! I'm sorry for what happened before, the dose I gave you was probably too strong, I guess it is just a habit of mine. Please forgive me." The man said in a joyful way, smiling at you like he did before… His voice was familiar but nothing to really help you remember.

"I guess I haven't introduced myself properly, then again I didn't think you would make it this far- I don't know why but I couldn't bring myself to let you go to waste. You have a very sweet smell and I couldn't help but wonder what it would taste like." He acts as if what he said was a compliment, and you strangely enough nod your head, feeling a little dazed still.

Yeah… but, what was he talking about? This conversation was weird and it was starting to worry you a little bit.

He brought to the table you were sitting on his pie so it could cool down while you two chatted, and filled the table with a plate of muffins and another of small bread. They looked incredible!

"You can eat how many you like! Consider yourself my guest, it's actually very nice to have someone over after such a long time…" He sat down in front of you and started to pour you more tea.

"I think it's clear to see I don't really do this, well, my name is Zirick, and this is my house! Don't worry, I'm not mad about what you did earlier, it happens all the time! And of course, my house was pretty much made for it, ya know?"

You didn't understand what he meant, so you told him your name and apologized for not only not remembering what you did but also for doing something that would offend him.

"Oh Pumpkin, it's okay! It's my fault your head is as empty as my cup of tea- My spell was supposed to just knock you out but I guess it was a little too strong and in return made you lose a few memories! But don't worry it'll come back eventually…"

"What I'm talking about is that you stumbled around my land and… Well, after seeing my house you couldn't help but want to take a bite off my walls! But I fixed them already so that's fine."

What? He knocked you out with a spell?? For eating his walls?! That entire sentence didn't make sense to you, you would never randomly eat someone's walls!! Even if they were delicious and even if you… do remember snacking on them… a little bit…

Ugh your mind was a flurry of thoughts, it was like different ingredients being violently mixed together and not mixing well! (Heh, cake comparison! You sure he would have loved to hear that one).

Well, invading someone's property like that was not a good thing but you weren't sure if knocking them with a spell or two was a good way to deal with an intruder… Still, you apologized and said you were going to find a way to pay him for his sweet wall. He waved you off laughing to himself.

"Oh but human money is worthless to me, and besides you have already paid me- Oh! Speaking of which, I just have to make sure this pie tastes good- I would offer you but I don't think it would taste, little Pumpkin."

He started to cut himself a slice… It was very red and meaty for a "pumpkin" pie, yet it smelled like one to you… And to him too.

Your senses were starting to get to you, you started to feel worried as the man was staring at you expectantly, you looked around and saw a peppermint clock on the wall, it marked 10 and you were sure by the darkness outside the window it meant 10p.m. You tried to get up and excuse yourself, after all you needed to get home soon or your family would end up getting mad at you.

But before you could actually walk away, you fell hard into the ground. You noticed you weren't feeling your legs properly, that's because one of them was missing.

"Don't roll away now, you're my guest today, remember? And besides, how far can you go without help, silly?" Zirick came to your aid very quickly and helped you get back to the chair immediately.

You tried to push him away, you bit him, you slapped him and even tried to kick him with one leg- It didn't work, he still knew how to tranquilize you into going back to your dreamland…

"Shh… Ah, how sad. All my guests get like this… You're a little fiesty for such a sweet Pumpkin, but I somehow can't get enough of your company, perhaps when you wake we can start again…"

He licked his dirty, bloodied fork eagerly. Normally he would have turned you into a massive pie but he wasn't THAT hungry and surely just a leg would be enough, and you were adorable walking around in the woods like a little adventure! He couldn't help but trick you into coming closer and eating a piece of his house- He needed a reason to get you inside of course, an eye for an eye, as they would say.

He isn't sure how he'll go about this but he likes your company, especially when you're too dazed to have any inhibitions or sense of privacy when talking to him! He could hear you sleepily mumble for hours, you were just so sweet to talk to, and to taste!

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#yandere #yandere oc #choco stuff #a sweetheart asked:#yandere x reader #yandere cannibal #yandere wizard #yandere witch #yandere male #yandere male x reader #gn!reader #yandere!cannibal x reader #yandere!wizard x reader #special delivery request #special delivery scenarios #special delivery headcanons

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astralartefact · 4 months

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NieR Reincarnation The People and the World Satellite Spoilers, Feelings and a lot of YoRHa:Dark Apocalypse

Please read this post imagining silent sobbing in the background...

First off, I liked what they did with 10H, just skipping a recap entirely and making her Mama's ally right from the outset while leaving the in-between after the story we already knew for the EX Story.

speaking of which, I loved that they gave that ex story a straightforward happy ending (also, the carnation for reincarnation is just... so cute) I was so afraid that it was going to end with Mama betraying her again, but she didn't q___q And it makes Mama calling her 'our special girl' before the chapter hit so much harder q___q I love you Mama q___q

(also, food for thought, her ex story's name 'copied floral silhouette'... silhouettes are black on white, so it implicates a copied black flower)

I was thinking what the fuck they were going to do with her RoD story in the distant future though... but alas, I only opened Twitter after doing all of that.

So let's talk about it, I didn't expect it to EoS in APRIL. WHAT THE FUCK THAT'S SO SOON!! And I wasn't even expecting them to do another Season or anything, the story is in a perfect place to stop, all I was expecting them to do was drag it out a little bit longer with a skeleton crew only releasing RoDs and Costumes for a year or so until they didn't feel like it anymore - but this soon??? I guess the next NieR game must be closer than I initially thought, why would they just end it, surely they could have kept up the servers for a few more months with how much money and time they've put into the character models and stuff...

I do hope a Offline Version is coming, mainly so I can finally unironically call it the best NieR game without the looming "But it's a Gacha" threating my credibility as a... I don't have credibility, why am I even worried about that

Needless to say, my dream of #AnoggForReincarnation is probably dead in the water... But we'll get to her, because I have thoughts.

Two Big things from the Chapter that I want to talk about:

No.1: It's revealed that Humanity had a plan to "return" (to Reincarnate, if you will) after their Extinction

No.2: The "Earth" we return to is just the Cage again, but whiter and snowier.

I have two theories for what the "Earth" we saw might have been:

a) It's a sort of Meta-Earth where every structure represents every possible parallel Earth in existence - like how we have a Drakengard Earth that's seperate from the Main NieR Earth that's seperate from Hina and Yuzuki's Earth.

b) They don't use Earth meaning planet, but Earth as the place where Humanity is - this is just where the Humans actually are right now, after all they don't just need a place to return to, they also need a place to return from as well.

A notable line here includes 10H confirming to Yuzuki that the Round Egg in the Background (ROUND EGG, ROUND EGG, ROUND EGG!) "must be" the Cage, but that it's "not supposed to be here."

You know another Round Egg that can move around to anywhere it feels like at will and also contains the entirety of Human Memories within it? Well of course, It's time for me to bring up the only thing I ever talk about, YoRHa:Dark Apocalypse!

I've brought up before that there are certain similarities Anogg displays with Noelle's Introductory Chapter and at the time I thought that Noelle's whole deal might be involved in the creation of the Pseudo-Seed from Y:DA. But now that her backstory is fully revealed I actually think it's the other way around.

We now know that Noelle is actually a Human Clone that was created from a human after Humanity disappeared - but that makes it impossible that the Y:DA Pseudo-Seed was based on her if we do consider it to be the same or even just a copy of the Cage, because as we now know the Cage is part of Humanity's plan to Return - which means it must have existed before experimentation on Noelle even started.

Basically I think that Noelle was created using the same technology that was used to create the Cage - a Seed of Destruction. Which - if she actually is one of the pre-established "Dragon Weapons" - is actually pretty likely, because we know Accord had her fingers in making those Weapons happen and we know thanks to countless cameos that the Cage is Accords whole thing - and Accord is really the first and probably only person we know who could even possibly provide a Seed to do that with in the first place.

So while I had thought before that what we see the Red Girls do and what we see Anogg do in Y:DA with and/or caused by the Pseudo-Seed was just from whatever the Red Girls did to it, I think it's now much more likely that that's just how the Cage functions that the Red Girls copied. What if the Cage doesn't just store them, what if it can also Recreate Humanity when the time is right? And they were going to set that in motion after YoRHa defeats the Machine Lifeforms - which just doesn't seem to happen?

Or maybe Humanity's plan was to shoot themselves into space and recreate their entire planet where ever they land, just like the Tower/Cannon the Red Girls create and the Dark Apocalypse they chime in on Norvrandt!

Whatever it turns out being, I think Humanity turned a Seed of Destruction into a literal Seed of Resurrection. And wouldn't that be poetic as fuck. long live optimism, humanity is good sometimes

#nier #nier reincarnation #yoko taro #drakengard #drakengard 3 #dod3 #yorha dark apocalypse

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transflynnscifo · 2 months

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Words left unspoken-- Flynn and the XBOX 360 ending

Today, I finally wanted to make a post about something that might be a little obscure. Whether it truly is would depend on whether

a) you’ve watched/seen the original version of Vesperia,

b) you enjoyed the game through PS3 or Definitive Edition and have looked into the significant differences done between the same game.

To preface, I think it is no secret to anyone that the original 360 version did not have Flynn as a playable character, whereas Patty was just not present (though there was a hint in the original version, if my memory serves me right, that there were plans to implement her even before the ps3 version)

This is my warning to avoid reading further, as this entire post contains spoilers for the ending of the game, regardless of the version.

To make sure all readers are up to speed, it’s important to mention that Flynn is not brought along for Tarqaron in the 360 version. If the player wants to talk to him as an NPC, he would be present in Aurnion (and the Colosseum as an enemy if you’re doing the 100-man melee). Regardless, this significantly changes the progression of the ending cutscene, once you are able to defeat the end-game boss. I would suggest to take a few minutes to watch and compare the original vs updated ending, which I am providing now, below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91L4AIKcyg The version used in PS3 and Definitive Edition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgeMz8Vyocw The version used for the XBOX 360 version, in English.

[I want to mention that I think the part where the rest of the party runs up to Yuri is cute in both versions. In the older one, Yuri kneels to greet Repede! Um, they forgot Patty in the new version somehow, but I imagine she’s doing her Dream Star arte and is about to explode the others.]

Let’s put our focus on Flynn, though!

In the Definitive edition, you know that he approaches Yuri happily, and they both do their little handshake/high-five thing before running up to the others.

In the XBOX 360 version, we get something entirely different! We have Flynn looking up softly at the sky in order to declare his pride for Yuri, without Yuri ever being able to hear that, let alone know it was even said.

Why does he not say it in the newer versions of Vesperia? Your guess is as good as mine, but I will still propose an idea: The moment was different.

Time and time again Flynn witnesses Yuri and the gang do so many good deeds without taking the proper credit for it. In the case of the original, Flynn is not playable, so he witnesses even less of what the party is doing. I think this cut away from the party perspective in the original to show Flynn is meant to assure the player (who usually may be controlling Yuri) that yes, he genuinely considers Yuri in that high of a regard. He doesn’t personally witness the defeat of the Adephagos in the original, so his only line of thought is to assume Yuri was able to defeat it himself. In fact, the original helps the viewer know that Flynn is perfectly certain this was Yuri’s doing.

Though Flynn goes through the same issue of Yuri refusing to take credit in all versions of the game, he is able to travel with the others and establish more of a bond (albeit awkwardly) with them in PS3 and onward. I think part of him not saying the pride line in those endings was also because he was generally relieved to see the Adephagos defeated with his own eyes. I assure you he probably still is proud of Yuri for it.

Let’s move on to a more interesting observation. Since the English XBOX 360 was very big for the west and there was no dual audio at the time, many players have missed out on how the line is spoken in the Japanese version of the original. So I wanted to compare them too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5h6QoedZ9o&t=322s The 360 ending, in Japanese.

INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:

This part of my post isn’t meant to say which version is superior, but to discuss the choices done that make the lines both similar and different. Please keep this in mind I am saying this as a(n English) Language major thank you and godspeed.

Anyway, let’s put the lines together:

……君こそ僕の誇りだよ。親友 ...I am so proud to call you my friend, Yuri Lowell.

The website I’ve referred to for years by now does not offer a fan translation for the 360 version, but only for PS3 and on. In my experience playing the game in Japanese audio, watching my sibling play it in the dub, studying Japanese, I have found that the only significant times the fan-TL and the localization differ are when translating arte names. (Here is the website https://hyouta.com/vesperia/index.php?version=ps3p&locale=jp&compare=c2)

Some notes: こそ is used to put emphasis after pronouns. だよ is also used to put emphasis too, but in a very informal manner. Flynn typically ends many of his sentences with だ in Japanese, especially when he is speaking casually with Yuri and other party members. He even switches his first person pronoun depending if he’s on duty or not.

(for だよ: https://www.alexrockinjapanese.com/meaning-of-dayo-in-japanese-and-english-how-to-use/, for こそ: https://selftaughtjapanese.com/2015/10/22/japanese-word-koso-%E3%81%93%E3%81%9D-explained-in-detail/)

With my beginner-level Japanese, I will try to offer a translation of the former line, with the help of dictionaries such as https://jisho.org and the above resources to help me parse out a meaning.

“...You are my pride, close friend.” ← where arguably, switching close for the word dear might convey the message better. Frankly speaking, this ended up being the same translation as the one provided by a fluri quote bot that was used on twitter (pay respects for it no longer working).

Now, you might have noticed that I put an emphasis on ‘you’. Well, it’s because Flynn’s wording would be impossible to convey in the translation otherwise.

Let’s compare this and the official English localization! Several elements here are the same. They are marked:

...I am so proud to call you my friend, Yuri Lowell. ← Subject: I, Predicate: am, Complement: to call you. I’m not making the rest of the sentence now as it’s not that important. ...You are my pride, close friend. ← Subject: You, Predicate: are, Direct Object: my pride

So why is the English one so different? I can’t be truly sure, but even with a glance I can say that the syntactic construction is more complex, for one. I am interested in the switch between ‘pride’ and ‘proud’, with the former being a noun, the latter, an adjective.

What I also want to highlight here is that they ARE saying nearly the same thing. With the words ‘pride’ and ‘proud’ being able to be formed from one another, the meaning behind the words are not lost. In fact, when looking up the kanji for pride in the script of Vesperia, it is always translated interchangeably, depending on context.

If I must further simplify Flynn’s words, we get the following:

ENGLISH: I’m proud of my friend JAPANESE: (close) friend is my pride

depending on whether the difference is significant may be subjective.

Let’s determine the reasons /why/ the two versions wind up ultimately different while saying the same thing.

1. This is something my friend Choc pointed out. The possessive adjective. MY FRIEND vs MY PRIDE. When pulled from all context, the Japanese version comes out more intimate. But putting them back in it makes the scale more equal

I am proud + you are my friend = you are my pride + close friend

2. Troubles in translation: 親友 (しんゆう)

This kanji is not easy to translate. I’ve seen posts talking about it used in Naruto, where even there, it is difficult to emphasize the meaning in a translation. Even directly translating it like I did may come off awkward when in English. Translation and localization are one of the hardest parts of offering a Japanese text to non-Japanese speakers. And what can one do when the direct translation fails to impart the word?

You find other words that attempt to impart a similar connotation/meaning. This lies at the core of translation studies. It’s why a translator is REQUIRED to be a good speaker of the source and target language. The capability of having a wide range of vocabulary AS WELL AS being able to use it in the best placements are at the core of what one could consider a good translation. And even then, such a term is very subjective depending on which language speakers you ask. Especially when this comes to languages as different as English and Japanese.

But is 親友 truly lost in translation? I think the average English speaker is still able to infer that Flynn genuinely means his words in regards to Yuri. If not through one word, I think everything else that is said in done in the game is proof enough.

“I am so proud to call you…”

3. Cultural translations and implications

This point arose in further discussion between me and my friend Choc on the topic. Though I have operated with both lines saying they convey the same thing, I have not considered the semantics and cultural aspects of such phrases.

Firstly, Japanese is taught in a way where there is a large emphasis on formality. Most of what is seen in anime/manga/games can be considered at best informal and rude at worst. So it is important to keep such a thing in mind when looking at a Japanese texts. While we can translate something, we also need to understand how intimate it can be read, and subsequently, how would such a sentence come across in English.

“X is my pride” as a phrase is much less common than “I am proud of X”. And, subsequently, a speaker comes to alert if the former would be uttered. Why call someone the noun when you can describe them with the adjective?

This is speculative on my end but, in the case of Flynn’s line, I think it’s perfectly fine to say it’s intimate. That’s the intention! He and Yuri have known each other all their lives, and have been through the roughest parts in their relationship. They already speak informally with each other in Japanese, so such a line should not be too surprising, right?

Well, the perceived issue with using “You are my pride” in the localization could be that its meaning alters when it enters English. Semantically speaking, most English speakers would perceive this as romantically charged in most contexts. Part of it could be due to how direct it is when dissected syntactically, whereas the official localization lengthens the sentence and makes it more complex. In personal experience, many sentence structures I’ve already learned in Japanese are short and direct. Though Flynn’s line breaches intimacy, the structure is not why, but because of “こそ” and “だよ” that I mentioned earlier. Once more, the direct translation would in theory create a miscommunication of intention in the translation.

Ultimately, the most devastating part of Flynn’s line is the fact that Yuri will never be around to witness it. Yes, Flynn is still pretty direct with his feelings, we have that one line before the Aurnion fight, and it seems he can still convey his feelings non-verbally in a fight. But for someone who begins the story as demotivated and depressed, continues on to a point where his self-esteem plunders further, and manages to find what he wants to do while holding certain unhealthy ideas about Flynn (such as putting him on a pedestal, check the conversation with Sodia in Nor), Yuri probably really should hear those words, even if he is allergic to praise or positive affirmations aimed at him.

Ultimately, what can be done as a result is to ponder ideas after the end of the story and hope that Flynn eventually actually uses his words. But who’s to say! What did I do for this? I made edits. This is your reward for making it through my post. Maybe someday I’ll post them separately too.

Thanks for reading. Flynn Scifo is gay

#tales of vesperia #flynn scifo #fluri #woe tovposting be upon ye #woe joystick be upon ye #long post also. really long

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classpectpokerap · 3 months

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How do you feel about the portrayal of plurality in Homestuck? Because it’s not good.

Cherubs are “supposed” to predominate over their other personality. With Calliope being portrayed as naive for trying to co exist.

Horuss is mocked for being a system. But I’d say it was a king fun of people who pretend to be mentally Ill on social media for clicks.

Then their are the sprites

okay so

i guess we're doing this

HOMESTUCK AND PLURALITY: A PRIMER

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST THERES SO MUCH

SO SO SO MUCH

okay. so

homestuck is one of the best pieces of media of all time for plurality and i fuckin mean it. no shot do not pass go i have NEVER seen anything that is more built from the ground up to Support plural reads. like, to the point where it feels impossible to read homestuck without it.

as a work dealing with two huge primary themes of a) finding yourself/identity/growing up, and b) ideas coming to life, plurality is pretty much the Perfect intersection between the two of them. like.

take rose for example.

rose is plural and it's great.

when the doomed timeline evaporates, future dream rose does not actually "cease to exist." she ceases to exist as her own person -- her memories, experiences, personality, thoughts (or, as shorthand, her selfstuff) all flows back into rose prime. and that experience is just something rose has to roll with. one becomes two -- that other rose is still in her mind.

jade's plural and it's great.

when her dream self awakens as jadesprite, jade has a horrific argument with her. if you're plural i'm sure you understand. fighting with an age-regressed version of you, stuck in a traumatic past, who WONT FUCKING LISTEN -- we've all . been there.

she has involuntary barks, she can't stop seeing images of fire, she wants to go back to nonexistence but she doesnt want to die and it's torture,

and then in cascade, jade fuses with her.

dream jade is still in there. that part of her she has to grapple with is still real. her dog who she loves is in there, too -- but, yknow. woof

then grimbark gets forcefully introjected into her. i've seen a few fics play with the idea that the grimbark personality is still residually there (read ygtpoasu), but it's not a huge thing that's explored in the text. more backgrounded. but still! her crisis of identity is in there.

wanna know what's NOT backgrounded

tavros's plurality is like, a pretty big factor in his character!!!! it's one of the bigger points vriska uses to bully him with (because she's projecting because she's projecting because she's projecting, because she's also plural and kins mindfang), it's like. a big thing that he has to cope with and figure out.

kanaya suggested tavros treat his self-confidence as his own brain guy, like, completely sincerely. she genuinely thought it would help, and it sorta did!!!!!

and like

it is FAR from the only positive example of plurality in the comic.

like. look at sollux and aradia defending "alternate reality copies" of characters -- which can be pretty easily extrapolated to them talking about fictives

like. !!!!

i dunno, man. i think that homestuck is a DEEPLY plural story. you should read mtm and kgtac for more exploration of these themes. read detective pony too while you're at it. like.

i havent even TOUCHED on horuss or dirk or karkat here because there is just so much. there's so much! like ultselves. oh my god i completely neglected to talk about ultselves or cherubs or --

augh

but anyway here's The Screenshots from mtm

homestuck is, like, the single most fictive compatible fictional work i've ever read.

"oh im being sent to another universe as a brain ghost? that happened to my buddy dirk"

"oh im one of many incarnations of myself, and perhaps not even the most 'canon compliant' one? haha dream bubbles moment"

"ive been isekai'd into another world? lol sburb"

it. yeah. god. i could literally talk about this all day. but instead im gonna direct you to my ao3.

check out no metaphors and then scroll through the "multiplicity/plurality" tag on my page

and if youve got more specific stuff, send in another ask!

#hs meta #homestuck #plurality #etch asks #tavros nitram

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nagichi-boop · 27 days

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So assuming that Sonic 3 will at least partially follow the plot line of Sonic Adventure 2, here are some of my thoughts/predictions about things that will happen in the movie to fit Shadow’s lore into the movie universe;

• In regards to Shadow’s motivation for disliking Sonic, either (a) he resents him for having a human family while his was lost, (b) he thinks Sonic and his friends are stupid for getting close to humans as they are ‘inferior’, or (c) he doesn’t really care about any of that, but just that Sonic gets in his way. • Similar-ish to the last point, but I want Shadow to come to respect the Wachowski’s. Maybe not fully like them, but at least acknowledge they are good people. Whether that happens gradually or after he gets his real memory of Maria’s wish back, I want him to soften a little to them.

• I don’t think Shadow will be adopted into the Wachowski family. Not because they don’t want him, but rather I think he will become a free spirit, similar to how he is in Sonic 06.

• Although in SA2 Amy is the one to talk Shadow into helping stop the ARK hitting earth, I think Sonic could work well as the one to talk him down. He lost family, but he found a new one. He could convince Shadow that not all of humanity is evil. That, or maybe even Tom could talk to him? Who knows. I think Amy would also be a great option to match what happens in the games and I’d love to see that moment recreated, but I worry since we have had no word of her actually appearing in Sonic 3. That and I feel like they’d want the moment to be between Shadow and a ‘main’ character instead, especially with Sonic’s backstory being much different in this universe. • I also think it would be kinda cool if Sonic saved Shadow in space instead of him falling to earth. Not only does this avoid potentially rehashing the whole “I forgot again” storyline that Heroes and ShTH covered, but it also might make him more accepting of Sonic as a friend, or at least someone to respect.

• This is very much wishful thinking, but if Rouge and Omega return (either in this movie or in the future), please please PLEASE let them be a trio again, or at the very least friends. I don’t want any of this “Shadow can’t have friends” nonsense. TMOSTH proves how much more likeable he is when he isn’t just edgy and mean.

I think overall, I just really really hope that if Shadow is kept in the series after the third movie, he becomes an anti-hero instead of a villain. I want that version of Shadow back, not the “I’m edgy and I hate everyone” version. We saw a bit of his older self in TMOSTH and Prime (which I need to catch up on), so it gives me a little hope that Shadow in the movie will be more like his old self. And as a side note, I hope he’s like that in Sonic x Shadow Generations. Given its rehashing his backstory, maybe that’s a sign that he will be written to be like his previous characterisation? Who knows. A girl can only dream.

#shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic 3 #sonic movie 3 #nagichi talks

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ghostflowerhotpotch · 10 months

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Has it ever occurred to you that since Gwen hasn’t had a mother figure for the majority of her life and from the beginning of ATSV its kinda shown she’s been craving that type of guidance or even affection when she sees Jess for the first time, do you think that once the dust is settled between her and Miles and she finally gets to properly introduce herself to his parents, do you think that Rio can not replace Gwen’s mother but atleast fill in that gap in some way where she’s able to get some of the guidance she’s been looking for. Idk I just feel like the dynamic between the two could be interesting once they both get along with each other, hopefully this makes sense to answer.

Ohh this is interesting.

Now, hope you don't mind, but Gwen and Jess situation is something I wanted to talk about for a while, so, I will use your comment to talk about this.

I will do the Rio part too, but knowing myself, there is a chance that would end in a second post because I talk too much.

Let's go!

Now, do I think is this a joke? Yes, but I also think Gwen means it.

And look, this is not to say that you necessarily need to have two parents to raise a kid, I personally believe that one parent, if they provide the necessary attention and care to the child or children, could be an amazing parent and not let their kids feel like they are missing anything.

However, as discussed on this post, I mentioned why while George isn't a bad dad, sadly he is not the best parent for Gwen.

And here I also discussed why Gwen's mental health is a bit of a mess.

But to not sent people to do homework, let's give the cliff-notes version.

George is trying to be a good father, however between his job and his refusal to understand nuance, he has accidentally pushed Gwen away; even if maybe this could have been resolved if she talked to him in a normal situation, the fact that he did what he did in the beginning shows she was scared for a reason.

So that means Gwen has a gaping hole in what a role model and parent should be, since she needs more support. Of couse her Spidey identity is important to her (in fact she leans too much into it,) and having no one to help her on that complicated path doesn't make the situation any easier.

Enters Jessica Drew.

You know I found extremely telling that when Gwen sees Miguel, she is cracking jokes and not really taking his professionalism crap seriously; yet when Jess comes kicking ass with her motorcycle and she looks at her like she has seen the light.

Perhaps it had to do with her realizing this failed artist is more problematic than she expected, or the fact that Miguel was quickly disposed of by something she saw from a mile away; while Jess came putting the bad guy on a grinder and maneuvering a bike like nobody's business. Needless to say, Gwen is DEFINITELY impressed.

Once again, this plays almost like this is a dream come true for Gwen.

She hides it well for most of the movie as well as the previous one, but the reality is that underneath that cool exterior, this is a teenage mess with so much angst she is giving my teen self a run for their money.

Just like she craves companionship in the form of Miles as well as other spiders, she probably wants someone who can tell her everything is going to be okay or what they should do. Again, we may forget sometimes, especially with superhero movies where protagonists need to be competent despite their age most of the time; but Gwen is 16, 17 at the most; and has been handling this stress and turmoil for at least 3 years. That's a lot.

Top it with her dad not being able to emotionally support her, and the fact that she wants a mom becomes less a possible commentary about not nuclear families, and more of a likely possibility because the first 20 minutes of the movie gave us LOTS of material to show how mess up this is.

I think is a testament to the situation that she doesn't default to Peter B or Noir in the first movie, nor Miguel; she only seems to be interested in learning from someone when she sees Jess.

Is funny, but is also very painful to hear for me, as if you ask me she said it completely straight, and this just shows how much help she needs.

Granted Gwen said that accidentally and probably wouldn't have said it if thought about it first, but the fact that it slipped says a lot.

She desperately wants someone like Jess in her life, and to top it off, she probably wants that person as a maternal figure; probably someone to ask about techniques for defeating baddies and also who could talk about feelings without this person defaulting to work as a copy mechanism.

Feel free to call me crazy for getting so work up about a joke, but if I am honest other interactions really make me sell this idea for me.

Now let's talk Jess.

Literally what other reaction she was going to have.

We really never hear a definitive answer to the question, but I also think Jess didn't think too hard about it for a reason.

I am planning to go through some scenes of Gwen and Jess to dig deeper into their mentor/not-mom situation, but let's start with this.

Do I think Jess should have adopted Gwen? No, not at all.

Look I am a sucker for found family and adoption tropes, and I would had love nothing more than for Jess to give one dirty look at Gwen's dad, tell her she would be there for her, and take her away to a good home. That is not what happened, and I don't blame her.

She is on her way to having her own kid, she needs to be spider-woman and to top it all off, she seems to be kind of a second in command in a really big operation, where your boss is your friend who is also way too into his job and she probably is still there partially to make sure Miguel doesn't completely lose it. She has a lot on her plate as it is, adopting a traumatized teenager is a lot of work that shouldn't really be her job.

Do I think that means she has no responsibilities to Gwen? No, not really.

And this is largely why.

Okay, I will try to not go over every moment with them, as this is more about explaining their situation than a deep dive of every instance of their relationship, but this is a good kicker for the situation.

Jess immediately takes an interest in Gwen for the organization, now while I can understand that she based this purely on her abilities, I think a part of it was the comment Gwen made earlier. I think she sees in her someone who needs a steady hand and some support.

As a mentor.

This is going a bit ahead on the post, but let's establish that 1) This exists, and 2) Jessica got that idea EXTREMELY quick all things considered.

Here is where the responsibility part actually kicks in.

No, Jess doesn't have any responsibility to Mother Gwen in any way, regardless if Gwen needs one or not (she does,) but the moment she not only started to argue for her to have a spot in the organization, to take her in when the things in her universe technically imploded (which they are marginally responsible considering they came to clean this means and they only did it thanks to Gwen,) She implicitly accepted to look after her.

Okay here is where we need to talk a bit about tropes.

When you have protagonists that are teens or kids with powers, is inevitable that they will need to deal with dangerous stuff that no sane adult would let a real kid do, but is fiction so you kind of have to suck it.

This is a trope that I found kind of lazy even when I was part of the age demographic; which is why stuff like The Owl House with Eda was refreshing.

She was also a Mentor who was also not very responsible as a guardian, but she ended up growing into one, and even if she failed to protect her apprentice, she did try her damnest to do it.

Jess is not Eda, and she doesn't need to be, except that this story has proven to be aware that they are still teens.

Jess clearly recognizes this isn't fair for Gwen. We also see something like this in the first movie, with Peter B worried about Miles can or can't handle, while still letting them do stuff you wouldn't catch me letting my little sister get away with; they know that there are somethings someone at that age shouldn't just be handling on their own.

And Jess isn't exactly ice-cold about Gwen.

Jess took interest in Gwen's potential quickly, she looked after her, and quickly went to try to calm her down and support her during a very high tense and stressful moment. Even here is Gwen the one who ultimately moves away, not Jess, proving she could had try to stay close to ensure she was okay.

And this is something that shows that it kind of sticks.

While considerably harsher here than in her introduction scene, Jess is showing that despite her annoyance with Gwen, she still likes her. She never thought her relationship with Miles shouldn't be a reason not to have her on the team; she trusted a mission in the universe despite that, and also calls Gwen her star pupil, which I don't was sarcasm.

She also gives her an hour to fix this, which even if not much, is more than she could have given her.

I am not saying that Jess didn't look after Gwen, or didn't care about her beyond what she could do for the organization, however, it wasn't what Gwen needed.

Let's circle back to responsibility,

Jess is aware of what happened with her dad, she knows what Gwen lost, and she can probably imagine that a kid that lost her identity and her world like that on just one night can't be doing okay; yet nothing shows me she ever did anything about it.

Here is the thing, Jess doesn't need to be Gwen's mom, but she can't just insist to have her and be her mentor, and don't think about checking on her in something other than her kicking-ass abilities. Even if she doesn't want to deal with it, she should have either seen how to make her father see reason, or lock her in the room with the spider-man psych.

Considering how things go in this movie, neither thing happens.

And it feels more painfully obvious when you see how much Gwen tries to appeal to her emotionally.

In a vaccum, none of these are a big deal, but the more I think about it the more heartbreaking this is for me to watch.

This is why I find these to be such a big deal: Gwen doesn't like to do emotional shit.

I know, I probably repeated that more times than I can count; but let that sink in contrast to what's going on.

After Peter died, she decided to not have any friends because she couldn't deal with the grief, with Miles only getting past that rule because they are both spiders plus chemistry. And even then, when you see Miles asking if she is going to talk to her dad, she decided to crack a joke and brush the idea as swiftly as possible.

When her dad tells her about the break in the spider-woman case, she tries to brush it off with false enthusiasm at first, and then when she gives a more honest response is more out of bubbling annoyance that truly her trusting him with something.

She isn't baring her heart open in these moments though, let's not have it twisted; however, she is trying to use emotion as a way to appeal to Jess, which is not her first move with most people in general. Even when she is not actively giving her an in-depth explanation, in each of those moments she is giving the emotional context as to why this is so hard.

"You never got too close to someone?" -> "This person is important to me and this is hard for me, wasn't it for you?"

"But my gut says-" -> "I know this looks bad, and I can't explain how, but this isn't right, trust me."

"Tell him he is wrong!" -> I don't really need to explain this one, do it?

She continuously looks up to Jess to hear her out, and to understand what she is going through; she sees her and expects someone who can connect with her on that level and care about it.

But that's not what Jess does, because she is not her mom, she is her mentor.

For the most part, when Gwen tries to appeal to Jess emotionally speaking, Jessica shuts that idea down fast.

Now, I am going to preface this by clarifying that in real life, a mentor would probably check emotionally on the kid they are mentoring if only for the fact that when you are in charge of a kid, you should look after them. Fiction however is another ballpark, and technically speaking, a mentor shouldn't need to be doing something that is the job of the family.

A good mentor would probably understand their apprentice position and listen, since regardless of your years of experience, you can't just underestimate people or you will inevitably be surpassed. However, Jess isn't trying to be anything like that; she wants to teach Gwen her way, and her way says that emotions are kind of on the way. So regardless if it isn't what Gwen needs, she will insist on that.

I think there can be a way to accept emotions but also don't let them cloud your decisions, yet again, Jess is not interested in that, and I Gwen actually have normal, supportive parents (or even just one,) I wouldn't be so hung up about this. But she doesn't and Jess knows this.

Superhero or not, Gwen is just a teen, and shouldn't need to be living this, especially because I freaking doubt this is a canon event or something; with the resources they have, and the people they have on board, I can't believe there isn't a way they could have talk to Captain Stacy and made him see reason.

But they didn't, because they are more worried about spider-man duties than whatever is going on to the person under the mask, and for them, this is just what comes with the territory so you have the suck it up. Even if this is perfectly avoidable once you think of it.

That's something that I had been thinking about a lot while doing my post on the organization as well as the one with Gwen falling in Mumbatthan. The spiders are stronger together, and in general working as a team gives them not only better chances at saving people, but also helping with the stress they have and being there for each other. That isn't the goal of the organization though.

Miguel's mission is to preserve the canon and to put people from other dimensions back into their respective ones, anything else is probably secondary to him. Sure, if someone asks for help from another Spider I don't think he would stand in the way; except if it is a canon event, which in that case, he will probably say to people to suck it up.

The pain they have, the trauma they are suffering, while being together helps it was never the end goal to help with that, and there is no regard in avoiding said pain. This is a job first and foremost, which is the attitude Jess has.

Gwen is not her kid, or even a young student, she is a coworker; one that she needs to guide a bit, but her subordinate at the end of the day.

Sometimes the waters get muddier, on both sides if I am honest.

I will touch a bit on other scenes, but I wanted to bring up this one in particular because there is something that feels a bit more mother-daughter than it probably has any right to show.

Now I will be the first to admit this may be a me thing, I can be very formal in real life and that goes double with people who are older than me and in a position of power over me, the only exception to that rule is my current boss because he is the mythical creature of being a manager who remembers employees are people too.

Gwen is not like that, she jokes and doesn't give too much of a shit regardless if you are Miguel or a bad guy. However there is something in the way Gwen acts that feels she wouldn't be phrasing stuff like this if it was Miguel on the other side; again, back to her using emotion as a first resource rather than as a lashing effect of her anger.

Jess, while being kind of no-nonsense overall, is also not the most formal, because this is the spider society and Miguel had the bad luck to be the only straight-laced one while everybody else tries to be a comedian for the most part. But there is a way that she talks to Gwen that for me feels kind of like her not fully keeping this professional either.

I can't fully put it into words, so feel free to not make seriously on this one, but there is something about the way Jess is commenting on the situation that reminds me more of a mom than any of my bosses.

Then we have scenes like this.

I am sorry but this part really first like is a discussion between mother and daughter, even with contexts the way the scene delivers gives that energy.

This isn't exactly wrong by itself, nor is it truly that surprising. The boss I mentioned before had also mentioned off-topic that me and my other coworker (who is a couple of years older than me,) are almost like his kids, and we share an age range. However he doesn't try to parent us really, and even if some of the comments are very much 'now listen to me kids' he quickly remembers we are adults and would drop topics or decisions we made that I know wouldn't be his reaction has been one of the kids that are actually kids.

It probably has more to do with the way they talk and see people younger than them that any parental feelings, and none of this is really inappropriate.

Nonetheless, the fact that Gwen craves that motherly bond makes these interactions hurt all the more for me.

Gwen may not be under the illusion that Jess is her mom, but she's subconsciously looking up to her, and the fact that Jess acts like this, even if by accident, just feels into that mentality. The mentality Gwen has that maybe Jess will listen this time, that she will take into account her feelings and her opinion in her decisions; but she continues to not do that.

For the most part.

Is a bit hard to see with the resolution I have, but when Gwen is kicking and screaming while been taken by the machine, Jess's gaze goes in another direction.

I am sorry if this is feeling repetitive, I know this post is a long one (which is funny how this post created another 2 just so those topics wouldn't be here.)

What I am trying to say with all of this, is despite Jess' insistence this is just work, that Gwen is just her pupil and she can only do so much; Jess continues to have a soft stop for Gwen that let's her get away with things. Is kind of ironic how Miguel said Gwen was a liability for her feelings for Miles, yet couldn't even consider how feelings in general would get in the way, considering Jess assigned this mission to Gwen (which then she fumbled the bag and led to the Spot becoming an actual menace,) give her a second chance, and then apparently let her go.

(It is possible she is looking for where Gwen is going to tell Miguel, but I doubt it.)

I fully believe that by the third film, Jess will probably end up either switching sides or just letting Gwen do what she wants, and even if is the first scenario I think it would be via Gwen that happens.

But to wrap things up, if Captain Stacy is not enough as a parent for Gwen because he can't do that role properly, Jess isn't good enough as a parent for Gwen because she doesn't want that role, regardless of if she sometimes kind of acts like it.

I think their relationship is fascinating, and I would love to explore more of this connection in some way; if only because the complicated nature of it makes it all the more interesting for me, but in a nutshell, is this:

Jess: I wanted an apprentice, you wanted a mom. Gwen: Well I guess we are both disappointed.

(Sorry I couldn't help myself, OOF I wish I could draw well enough for this.)

Now, with my thoughts on Rio, I could probably put them on this post because is not that long, but it will probably feel off with all this commentary I had been making, so it would be in another one.

If you got this far, congrats on your patience, and thank you for reading!

#atsv files #across the spiderverse #atsv #gwen stacy #jessica drew #spider-woman #analysis

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