#like obvs if they literally can’t speak for themselves but even if they’re only like five or six they’re voice matters

[akkpipitphattana]

i think kids should have way more of a say in custody battles btw

[shinjaeha]

ipytm ep 2 (thoughts + spoilers)

i’ve been trying my hardest to forget about iptym during the week so the countdown to each new ep won’t feel as long, but i don’t think i’ve succeeded. with each new ep i feel more and more nervous and excited bc i know the conflict and angst is only going to keep ramping up as the series goes on (and this ep was a good indication of that...not FULL BLOWN angst yet, but the undercurrent of angst is slowly starting to come to the surface). i’m def more prepared for it than i was during itsay, but that doesn’t make it easy ;;;

the standard ‘this is not a proper analysis’ here...i’m completely aware that this post in particular is really messy, but i just had a lot of mixed feelings and thoughts with this ep. one day i will learn how to condense my thoughts better, but today is not that day so i’m doing this under a read more for once bc it’s embarrassingly long 😂

we start off with teh in acting class where his teacher is explaining how you need to be able to understand yourself before you’re able to understand other people (and therefore put yourself in the shoes of the character you’re playing)...which even before i knew where this ep was going to go felt a lot like foreshadowing for the events that were going to unfold in this ep.

the acting exercises are basically a lot like the ones that we see bkpp (and the rest of the cast) having to do as part of their workshops in the documentary eps, so it’s kind of cool to see them incorporate parts of that into the actual show itself. feels more authentic since, if you’ve watched the documentary eps, you know that this is actually what the actors have to go through when they’re learning to let themselves go and get into character.

so through this montage of all of teh’s classes, we get to see how much he’s enjoying learning more and more about his major. it’s truly his passion, and he’s finally in his element. and it’s great that he’s surrounded by so many seniors that are also as driven and passionate about performing as he is...i find it interesting how teh, even from the start, has always been most attracted to people that have the same sense of ambitiousness as he does. in itsay, his best friend (aside from oh-aew obv) was tarn, who had a very similar mindset as him. so here, it’s not really that much of a surprise that all his uni friends are basically the drama club seniors that he sees as role models. oh-aew is kind of that one outlier bc he doesn’t fit that same mould/personality type that teh tends to surround himself with, which is where you can already start to see the discord between them arising. in itsay, bc oh-aew was working towards the same end goal as teh at the time, it wasn’t as much of a conflict. but in ipytm we can see that their paths are starting to diverge more and more. that being said, oh-aew’s someone that teh truly needs in his life bc he offers a different perspective to most of teh’s other friends, and as we can see later on, teh REALLY needs that.

now THIS was one of the interactions i was really interested in. we already knew from the ep 2 teaser that teh isn’t exactly happy with oh-aew’s new friend group, so i’ve been waiting to see how teh acts when he’s around them. everyone’s at q’s house celebrating plug’s birthday, and honestly?? they’re all really sweet and accommodating of teh (they get him sweet drinks bc teh tells them that he doesn’t drink bc it’s too bitter, and they don’t pressure him when he says he can’t drink bc he’s got morning classes). but then the conversation turns to teh and oh-aew becoming actors and earning lots of money (and how convenient that is), and teh starts to get a little riled up. i don’t think they mean anything by what they’re saying (they’re just playing around), but we know that teh's sensitive to this sort of thing, and i think to him, it’s almost like they’re saying it’s ‘easy’ to become an actor and start making bank. teh, who already knows how hard it is (esp since he’s been watching how difficult it’s been for khim in particular), starts getting defensive about it. the focus being on money hits a nerve with him too bc teh is very clearly majoring in comm arts bc it’s his dream, not bc of the money he could make from it. teh and oh-aew’s gang are just on different wavelengths, and you can really start to see how teh’s having trouble bonding with oh-aew’s gang bc of their differing mindsets.

it makes me slightly sad that you can see how worried oh-aew is about teh and his friends not meshing. it’s like we, the audience, are all feeling what oh-aew is feeling...his nervous glances at teh bc he’s afraid that teh might not like them. and the discomfort on teh’s part too. all of oh-aew friends tend to be a lot more like him, relaxed and happy to go with the flow, but we know that teh can be pretty rigid and intense about the things that he’s passionate about. oh-aew recognises this, which is why he’s as anxious as he is in the first place.

oh-aew’s tea tattoo in honour of teh is actually so sweet 😭 it shows how much teh means to him. he really got a permanent mark on his body to symbolise his love for his boyfriend ;;; but from teh’s perspective, it’s literally that first mark of change. it IS a pretty big decision, so i don’t blame teh for being shocked about it, but teh likely sees this as oh-aew’s friends being a ‘bad’ influence on him (which we know gets brought up again later). not bc of the tattoo itself, but bc of what it represents. it’s like he’s watching oh-aew start to change before his very eyes and he doesn’t know how to deal with that so he brushes it away for now.

the framing of that shot where teh and oh-aew are facing each other and then q comes to walk in between them is A LOT like how they used to frame the both of them in itsay and having bas walk in between them. interesting.

HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THE FACT THAT OH-AEW SPEAKS CHINESE WHEN HE’S DRUNK...that’s just plain adorable :’) it’s like he’s reverting back to when teh was teaching him chinese and they were first falling in love again. teh’s method of getting close to him was always tutoring oh-aew in chinese, so it’s as though oh-aew is trying to feel closer to teh again by speaking chinese to him. sort of like he’s trying to recreate that feeling all over again. i also love that this is basically the opposite of that oppo short film ad bkpp did haha.

we got the “ke yi ma” “ke yi” again ;;;;;;;; i love their little domestic moments. they’re so soft when they’re like this (i know we’re gonna have to weather the angst, but i hope we still have a lot more fluffy moments like this too pls). side note, i really love the lighting in these scenes!!

when oh-aew reads teh’s note about the kimchi jjigae and smiles but then reads the “do not skip class” and his smile fades away...oh, oh-aew, i feel u.

so now we get to see oh-aew in acting class, and the difference between oh-aew’s feelings towards class and teh’s feelings are like night and day. teh’s classes make him feel so fulfilled...this is genuinely something that he wants to do. but oh-aew is struggling. he doesn’t have that same sense of purpose as teh bc he’s starting to realise that this might not be what he really wants...he’s trying but just not enjoying it at all. when teh tells him about the casting call, i feel so much dread for him bc he’s clearly not looking forward to it whatsoever, but he knows how much this means to teh...so he’s willing to ignore his feelings for now if teh’s happy :(

is it just me or was this when oh-aew stopped carrying his ‘heart attack’ bag too??

idk this struggle in particular just feels so personal to me. i really identify with oh-aew when it comes to this bc when i was at uni i changed my major like 3-4 times (and changed unis a bunch of times on top of that) bc i had NO IDEA what i wanted to do. even now, i still have no clue what i’m doing a lot of the time. i’m glad that oh-aew at least managed to find some sort of clarity when he dropped in on his friends’ advertising class and realised that this was something that he enjoyed and was good at :’)

teh’s so excited and focussed on this audition that he can’t even see how worried and reluctant that oh-aew is about this. he wants them to have the same dream so bad that he can’t see that this might not be oh-aew’s dream anymore. but anyway, oh-aew is the sweetest, best boy as always. he’s so, so encouraging with teh. so patient. he really such a great balance to teh’s more volatile nature...but that contrast is also what makes you feel so bad for him when teh lashes out at him without thinking (as he’s prone to doing).

i LOVE khim. i just have so much respect for her. she’s always trying her hardest, and it’s painful to see her give so much of herself yet constantly be knocked down. the resilience that takes. i know that that’s part of the industry she’s in, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. there’s a lot to be said about how harsh the entertainment industry can be (and the inherent ageism/sexism/homophobia within it), which i don’t have the time to go into here, but having to hear criticism like that...purely based on your looks (you don’t look smart enough, young enough, manly enough, etc.) is so incredibly disheartening. teh commenting on how harsh it is, and khim saying that it’s super common and telling the both of them how they’re gonna have to go through all of that the more casting calls they go to...OF COURSE oh-aew is only going to feel even more dispirited about this when he’s already realising that this might not be his thing anymore.

being able to take rejection and criticism is really fucking difficult (i know i could never do it)...and seeing oh-aew being told that he’s not ‘manly’ enough/too ‘girly’ in acting class and again at the casting call is yet another knock at his confidence. the way you physically see oh-aew get more flustered and anxious as the audition goes on, when he sees the crew shaking their heads at him :((( i feel all the nervousness, anxiety and embarrassment that he’s feeling right down to my very bones. then to walk out from that audition to khim talking about how damn hard it is to keep doing this time and time again only to be continually rejected?? my poor boy :( what’s fascinating to me is how differently the both of them interpret khim’s speech. teh latches on to her words and sees them as motivation to keep going...to keep trying and persevering. like a challenge. but to oh-aew, he just sees the difficulty and rejection. the instability of this career path, and how hard this could potentially be on his family as well. they’re both hearing completely different things.

teh being so happy about his audition even though he didn’t get the part and the way he turns around to face oh-aew directly when oh-aew tells him they said he was “too girly” and how he couldn’t change his personality to be what they wanted :((( pls. i just want to hug him so bad. teh’s “i like you the way you are now” and reassurance that so many other people do too  😭i know he kind of makes a mess of himself later on, but i’m still so glad that oh-aew got to hear that from him at least.

this show is the best at making you feel all that nervousness and anxiety when any of the characters are about to drop some big news. i was waiting with bated breath when oh-aew told teh he wanted to transfer majors. it makes me sad though that oh-aew has to constantly feel like he’s walking on eggshells when it comes to teh...he’s always most worried about teh’s reaction, and that’s prob the main reason why he didn’t opt out of comm arts even earlier. but oh-aew has all these mounting doubts about his major, and there’s only so long he can stick it out for teh’s sake, and the casting call (and khim’s words) really solidified that for him.

teh’s "you haven’t given it your all”/”you haven’t done your best” rubs me the wrong way bc it’s easy to think that way when you’re set on something and know that that’s what you want to do...but when you’re doubting/not sure about something, it just isn’t the same thing. we all have different thresholds when it comes to what we can endure and how much we can put into something. teh’s a hard worker, we’ve seen how dedicated he can be when he really wants something, but not everyone works like this. not everyone can be a teh or a khim. and esp not when they’re having to give their all to something that doesn’t feel right for them. and oh-aew’s right...sometimes once is enough to know that something’s not a fit for you.

when oh-aew mentions that he sat in on advertising class and thinks he might be into it, it’s like a parallel of that scene when they’re kids and oh-aew told teh that he wanted to become an actor like him. only now it’s the opposite. teh’s had this plan in his head that he and oh-aew are going to reach their dream of becoming actors and the lead protagonists in a movie/series together for so long now that it’s hard for him to reconcile that oh-aew might no longer want this as much as he does anymore. it’s like he can see this ultimate goal of his crumbling. so just hearing that it’s bc of q and the rest of the gang’s ‘influence’ that oh-aew sat in on their advertising class in the first place (and this triggered his interest in advertising) is like strike two for teh vs. oh-aew’s friends.

i’ve def mentioned this before, but oh-aew has always been the more pragmatic of the two, whilst teh is more idealistic, so i understand why he would gravitate towards something that was more stable of a career for him. more of a guarantee. he knows that advertising/marketing suits him better (not to mention that he’s always had the resort as his safety to fall back on too), and it’s something that he’s discovering he actually enjoys more in general too.

when i first watched this, i was like “oh wow teh’s matured so much!!” bc he didn’t blow up at oh-aew during this scene...that kind of ended up backfiring on me towards the end, but at the same time, i do think there’s a certain level of growth there since he does end up trying to reassure oh-aew (even if the blow up still occurs later on). it’s a process though...and even baby steps are progress.

8 months later and teh’s walking past that same place he and oh-aew walked by during his first night in bangkok...only now the poster is no longer the same red one. it’s blue... as though it’s signifying that this is just teh’s dream alone now, and teh clearly still hasn’t come to terms with that yet.

i’m really happy seeing oh-aew in a much better place now!! it’s so good to see him happy and actually involved in uni with his friends. but watching teh struggle going through casting calls and rejections makes my heart ache. hearing khim’s experience with auditions, and actually having to experience it irl, are two entirely different things. it’s like the reality of the situation is starting to hit in for teh. and that, on top of oh-aew not being there to support him in the same way bc their goals in life aren’t similarly aligned anymore, is starting to take its toll.

god, when teh lined oh-aew and was waiting for his response i was like nooooo don’t do it DON’T DO IT only for him to open ig to check oh-aew’s story 😭(though it IS cute that they have couple pfps). but we’re regressing. and now that they have different social circles it’s even harder to connect than before. teh feels like oh-aew’s being pulled away from him, into another friend group that doesn’t include him...and his insecurities are bubbling to the surface again. teh’s always needed that reassurance that he’s ‘special’ to oh-aew. clearly, we know that he is...but even now that they’re dating, it’s still something that he questions. and esp now that oh-aew is starting to feel like he’s fading further and further away out of reach.

i love seeing all of teh’s friends encourage him. they all understand how tough it is, and to see them all pull together to lift his spirits again is so lovely. but then his mood completely changes again when oh-aew comes to join them for dinner :( teh’s doing that thing again where he says everything’s fine when everything’s not fine (cue that “they ask you how you are and you just have to say you’re fine when you’re not really fine” meme). the flash to teh’s face when top says that he didn’t pass the exam to get into anantasart, and you know he’s just thinking about how he gave up his spot for oh-aew initially, and now that oh-aew’s transferred, it’s kind of like he’s turned it down twice. oof.

when teh tells them all that oh-aew’s transferred to advertising, it’s as though this is his way of trying to separate both his worlds. like oh-aew doesn’t belong here with his drama club friends, and it’s that pettiness that we got from teh in itsay is back in full force all over again. it reminds me so much of that time oh-aew told the itsay gang that he was a virgin, and so teh told his friends at school that he was a virgin too. or when oh-aew sent him that picture of his and bas’ legs touching, so teh retaliated by putting that pic of tarn on his story and leaning in to kiss her. it’s like he always needs to one up oh-aew. he doesn’t want oh-aew to feel the same bond with his drama club friends that teh has (esp when he sees that oh-aew is so close to his uni friends). where oh-aew was anxious about teh and his uni friends not getting on, teh is anxious that oh-aew and his drama club friends will get on too well so he has to create this distinction between them. kind of like his petty attempt to be all “i have my own friends too!!”, but it’s also combined with that feeling of inadequacy that he might not fit into oh-aew’s life anymore. he might not be ‘special’. idk if that makes sense but basically i think that teh’s feeling a lot of conflicting things during this scene.

when he starts attacking oh-aew at dinner...that was really hard to watch. you ever feel like you want to reach through the screen and just put your hand over someone’s mouth so they stop talking?? it was rough :/ it’s one thing to fight when it’s just the two of you alone, but it’s another thing to tear your partner down right in front of your friends. i understand teh’s feelings (and i know that they’ve been building up over this time), but my frustration was through the ROOF during this. it’s on brand for him, but still. and then poor khim :( i know oh-aew didn’t mean it in that way but the awkwardness of this entire dinner was just overwhelming.

another thing that’s sad about what teh said about oh-aew is that this is a huge sore spot for oh-aew, and it’s always been one of his biggest insecurities. the reason they stopped being friends when they were kids was bc teh said that he was going to quit eventually, so for teh to talk about how “shilly shally and indecisive” he is/how easily he ‘quits’ at things is a low blow when he already knows how much those words hurt oh-aew.

teh has a habit of jumping to conclusions based on oh-aew’s social media posts instead of actually talking things out with oh-aew so naturally it would make an appearance again here as well. and calling oh-aew’s friends “shitty” bc they’re different to him (aren’t as driven as teh and his drama club gang...therefore a bad influence on oh-aew) makes it really evident that teh still has a lot to learn. he really needs to start taking those acting class lessons to heart so he can see that not everyone is the same, and that other peoples’ experiences and perspectives are valid too.

teh’s long pause and “maybe” to oh-aew’s “and if this is what i really am, you’re not gonna like me anymore, are you?” BIG SIGH. it’s so typical of teh. i know he’s honest to a fault, but he REALLY needs to learn to think before he speaks sometimes bc he always ends up regretting it. i love that impulsivity of his, but it’s also one of the most frustrating things about him.

one thing that i find kind of annoying with the time skip is that we miss so much of teh’s festering feelings that it’s a bit harder to empathise with him when he has his eventual blow up?? i think if we were seeing this more consistently, it would be much easier for us to understand things from his pov better. like if we could slowly see this building up more and more as time went on, rather than just time skipping the 8 months until the blow up.

anyway, now khim and top are graduating ;;; i really hope that we’ll still get to see more of them in the next eps. i also love how the people in teh’s life are always so concerned for him (and how oh-aew’s doing). the message behind the book teh gets for khim’s graduation present is really sweet.

when khim first tells them that she’s going to be a flight attendant and teh blows up, i felt really angry at him initially. but upon reflection and rewatching this ep again...i think i understand where he’s coming from a lot better now. obv i still think he was out of line bc of course what khim’s saying makes sense...she can’t keep going to casting calls and scraping by with minor roles when she has to support herself and her family. in the end, we all need money to survive, and sometimes we have to be realistic about it. i really loved what she said about how we can have multiple dreams at once. but yeah, my heart really went out for her so much here :( it might be difficult for teh to see (or accept) rn, but he’s a lot more privileged than he realises. he still has hoon and his mother to support him financially, but not everyone is in the same position. not everyone gets to be as lucky.

regardless, i still understand why teh gets as torn up about it as he does. khim is someone that he’s looked up to and respected SO much...and his own doubts and insecurities have been steadily increasing. first, oh-aew changes majors, then, he keeps getting rejected at auditions, and now, the senior that he respects the most bc of her hard work and determination, is giving up her dream (at least in his eyes) to become a flight attendant. it’s like the world keeps telling him to give up bc it’s not going to work out for him. and he’s invested EVERYTHING into this dream. it’s all or nothing for him. but it’s like everyone else is slipping away, and it’s getting harder and harder to hold onto.

when teh looks at the tie and is reminded of oh-aew always being there to put it on for him :(((((((( ngl i was hoping that teh would be the first one to approach oh-aew (since their fight was bc of him), but i’m glad he apologised at least. and that they had a good talk about their feelings. but then again, this reflection after their fights is what they’ve always been fairly good at. teh just has to learn to stop internalising things so much that he ends up exploding so they don’t get to this point in the first place. so much has flipped from the first ep where oh-aew was the one feeling lonely and out of place. now it’s teh’s turn to feel all alone as he sees everyone’s dreams and goals (but his) start to change. like everyone is moving on and learning to adjust while he’s being left behind.

when they’re promising each other that their love for one another will never change, it just makes me feel so SAD. seeing them in the moonlight like this compared to the first ep when they were on the beach in phuket and teh was so hopeful and oh-aew was so worried :( everything’s already changed so much. making this promise under the moon like this reminds me of how bkpp kept talking about how the ‘ipytm’ title itself means an impossible promise...the two of them hugging in the moonlight as the score plays just feels so painfully bittersweet somehow ;;; my heart is aching, and i want the next ep, but i can’t deny that my anxiety is slowly building.

anyway, i know the end of this sounds so negative but i’m still banking on our teh/oh-aew endgame!!!!!!! it just needs to get worse to get better, and there’s still so much space for them to grow and learn. so many more experiences in store for them.

[xiibalba]

Akihiko for that ask game?

//BUSTS THE DOOR WIDE OPEN AND TAKES OUT ALL MY NOTES//

I HEARD BEST BOY’S NAME HELLO-

—

Favorite Thing About Them

He’s just so CARING- like I know his initial introduction and early game behavior makes it seem like he’s very battle focused and just wants that- but later in the game, especially if you’ve done his social link with FeMC you can see he REALLY cares about people. He isn’t the best at wording himself but his actions speak louder- protecting FeMC (even if you don’t go the romantic route), worrying about Ken even before he joins S.E.E.S, constantly worrying about Shinjiro and even MORE so when he finds out about the suppressants?? I hold Akihiko gently he needs some soup and a blanket

Least Favorite Thing About Them

I joke about the protein stuff with my friends but it honestly bugs me so much from a story perspective- fandom latches onto ONE THING and makes that the entire character’s personality I hate that aND ITS WORSE THAT ATLUS DID IT THEMSELVES TO AKIHIKO. One offhand comment. ONE. This man’s career was ruined. P4A/P4AU gets a pass (in some cases) because of “plot” but RARARARARRARARARARARARARA

Favorite Line

Literally can’t think of anything off the top of my head- but I like the whole scene where he’s mourning Shinjiro and he awakens to Caesar. Makes Me Cry

brOTP

HONESTLY ANYONE IN S.E.E.S- Especially Junpei and Yukari. He’s a great Senpai but I think those two would distract him from other stuff and take him out to like. The movies or places to eat that AREN’T Hagekure. Obvs Mitsuru is his go to for Deep Shit though. The Senpai Squad is just Very Good yes yes

Additionally I like Minato/Akihiko brOTP. They’re cute as a couple but I think Aki being able to talk without someone interrupting him and then being offered (often questionable but sometimes good) advice is Great

OTP

SHINJIRO AND/OR HAMUKO. I love Akishinji and I love Akiham but together? Oh absolutely adore it I love them all so much. I’m so sad there’s a lack of content of them, I have to feed myself </3

Aki’s def the type to need/provide balance tho which is why I love Akishinjiham. Shinjiro’s quiet and (typically) calm and Hamuko’s bright eyed and bushy tailed and like “Come on Aki let’s see how far we can go in Tartarus without anyone else cOME ON-“. After everything they’ve been through I feel like they’re good for each other in terms of overcoming all the SHIT they put up with at such a young age. You can’t be overly pessimistic about a situation or overly optimistic you need BALANCE and that’s where Aki fits in because he doesn’t lean too heavily to either side… Let Them Heal And Be Happy ATLUS I Am Outside Your House

nOTP

Uh… Mitsuru/Akihiko- Mitsuru is a Big Ol’ Lesbian

I don’t have to say it but yes I do, if you ship Ken with literally anyone get off my blog and block me I am going to rip out your throat violently

Honestly those are the only ones he’s pretty cute with anyone else

Random Headcanon

I absolutely can’t pick. I’m gonna give y’all a few-

He has pyrophobia! I do not need to elaborate as to why <3

I like the idea of Aki being eager to learn more languages. I HC Shinji and Hamuko as half Hispanic and Aki for sure made an effort to learn Spanish to impress them and just so they could talk to each other without others (besides Aigis) understanding!! I think that by Arena Ultimax Akihiko’s learned a lot of Spanish

Sleep Talks and Snores, thankfully both his partners are heavy sleepers so it doesn’t bother them too much but they’ve heard him sometimes and it’s so fucking funny. He’s fallen asleep on the lounge couch before and once scared Junpei SHITLESS when the guy had gone down for a post midnight snack just to hear utter nonsense coming from Aki

Unpopular Opinion

His canon height is wrong, he’s 5’7” he told me himself

Song I Associate With Them

Broken Church Bells by Small Leaks Sink Ships

Wrecked by Imagine Dragons

Faust, Midas, and Myself by Switchfoot

Fire Fire by Flyleaf

Favorite Picture Of Them

Boxing Legend Akihiko Sanada found dead in Inaba

[jq37]

The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 3

The Case of the Curious Clues

Before we start, a quick plea to Grant O’Brien: Please stop finding clues. I can only take notes so fast. You’re killing me Grant. Moving on...

We start off this episode with yet another flashback, this time to the final confrontation of Sly and his supposedly dead arch nemesis Fletcher Cottonbottom at Reichenbunny Falls (...Brennan please). Fletcher was using a local castle as a storage center for munitions but Sly tipped off the cops before they could be moved. They do some repartee back and forth before Fletcher, the madman, handcuffs them together and jumps off the edge. They hit the water but Sly is able to lockpick himself out and escape while Fletcher disappears beneath the waves. 

You know what I got from that story? No body.

Anyway, we jump back to the present where there *is* a body, Squire Badger’s specifically. Everyone in the room who isn’t a PC thinks that this must either be the work of ghosts or Mrs. M who was the only person in the room when it happened (allegedly). 

This is a crucial time for clue gathering and Brennan keeps everyone in initiative for investigative purposes. Now, *so much* stuff happens here that I’m not going to recap every single detail--just the major clues and the things that seem relevant. I’m serious, this is like the volume of info we usually get in the once per season later game lore dump ep but it’s episode THREE.

Daisy tries to find a secret door but critically fails. She clocks Gangie, a fellow criminal, and in the moment Rekha and Katie decide that they prob have worked together in the past even though they are very different kinds of criminals. 

Buck, who is outside listening to what’s going on in the room notices that his ankle knife is missing which is Concerning considering a man was just knifed to death. 

Sly has Lars guard the door (he opens it and Buck is discovered, whoops) and then rolls a NATURAL 20 plus NINE to investigate so Brennan just has to tell him literally everything. RIP to him and me. Anyway, here’s the rundown (along with some of the stuff other ppl got):

Mrs. M’s hands are covered in blood but she couldn’t have done it. Based on her personality for one and for other reasons we’ll get to.

The wound is much messier than it would be if a person stabbed themselves typically.

There is a note in Squire Badger’s handwriting that says “Sylvester Cross I am afraid” No indication of if that was the whole message or if he got interrupted (maybe Buck could figure it out with his handwriting checking skills). Daisy from across the room clocks that Sly’s name is written on the paper but can’t read the rest.

The knife is a hunting knife with a pronghorn handle--an animal not common in England but very common in Texas (and Buck is sweating obv).

There is a slight layer of charcoal type dust on everything on the big resolute desk in the room (which makes sense, ash from the fireplace) but there is parchment type dust on the bust of Barkus Aurelius (OK, that one’s good) on the table and that’s the only place that dust is. Ian later notices that the date on the bust is wrong. 

Speaking of, the desk (which we learn later was put in and taken out of storage once Loan Hall was modernized) is bolted to the ground and a lot of stuff has been thrown off it as if by a powerful force but Sly notices that it’s just the metal stuff like things made of silver or with screws. Stone things like the bust and other non-metal things have stayed put. Plus he smells ozone. This was the work of magnets, not ghosts, he concludes. And, for the record, Grant figured this out himself!

Mrs. M’s eyes are rapidly dilating. She is questioned about what happened and she says that she was told she was fired and would receive a small pension. 

(Not a part of Sly’s clue dump but Buck rolls a 24 with disadvantage to persuade everyone he didn’t do it but then 2 nat 1s in a row to see if Harding--who said he was standing outside the door--is suspect. Buck thinks he’s at most a stooge but he did roll a nat 1 so who knows?)

Anyway, back to Mrs. M. Gangie fully believes Mrs. M is innocent and scared. She doesn’t quite remember what happened for a couple of seconds in there and it’s clear this is not the first time she’s had missing time. Sly calls Longfoot (the bunny photographer) over to take a picture of Mrs. M which everyone is a little appalled at until they realize he’s making a point. When the flash goes off, she bugs out like she did in episode 1 and forgets that the picture was ever taken. Sly then has Dr. Magpie list the symptoms of epilepsy. It seems that Mrs. M had an episode triggered by the flash she mentioned seeing and then lost time. It’s possible that what she thought she saw after that she didn’t actually see.

[While Sly is monologuing this Rekha texts Brennan and gets a 17 to swipe the “I am afraid” note. Sly doesn’t notice.]

So if it wasn’t her, then who was it? There’s only one door into the study and anyone who walked in would have to have walked past Mr. Harding, Shellcrest, Calliope, and Tabitha (who is having a marvelous time being in the midst of so much drama). Ah, but who said there was only one door? Sly has Harding pull a sconce and a SECRET DOOR OPENS! Woo! Finally! It’s a classic bookshelf one that opens into the hallway and there is some extremely fine crushed glass under the door. Hmm.

Sly clocks that there is something under the desk but we don’t know what it is because Brennan texts it to him and it’s redacted. There are actually a couple of redacted texts that go around this ep so we are def missing information. 

OK, that’s more or less everything. 

Sly notices that the page is missing and Grant gasps while Rekha does an excellent job of pretending like she doesn’t even remember what paper is being talked about. Constance asks if it’s possible that Mrs. M totally made up the memory because of her epilepsy and between Dr. Magpie and Sly they determine that that’s uncommon but possible. Dr. Magpie says that everyone should leave so he and Sly can examine the body and Sly says that someone should watch Gangie at all times. 

At this point, Harding and Gilfoyle (the butler) say they should establish where everyone was at the time of the murder. A lot of the staff and guests have solid alibis cause they were in big groups/cleaning up together. But the PCs were off alone (or with each other) and had reasons to want to guy dead so they’re prime suspects. Sly even admits that he’s one too. Also everyone dogpiles Ian because Raph makes it so fun. 

Harding mentions the letter that was given to Buck (the one selling his shares in BB and giving voting writes to his rival Josiah) and asks him to read it. Buck reads it and gives a streamlined version of the truth, saying everything except for the part with the proxy vote. With a 26 he is able to allay everyone’s suspicions for now, but now he’s purposefully hidden the truth in a way that can be readily called out if anyone sees the letter or the contract which he resolves to find. 

Buster distracts the group so Daisy can “check the body for a pulse” aka: check the body for the contract. She doesn’t find a it but does find a key attached to a piece of red silk--something that would be weird for him to be carrying around instead of his valet. She figures this must open whatever locked drawer the contract is in and swipes it but Sly clocks her stealing it (his perception ties her sleathiness but an earlier Bless from Ian tips him over the edge--poetic).  

Calliope says that everyone is kinds suspect, including Sly, but *someone* has to solve this and Sly’s their best bet so everyone should just stay put and they can guard the exits. The butler says that, besides the front door, there are some towers that poke up above ground and a servant's exit/entrance by the elevator in the kitchen wing but they can lock down both and have someone guard the front doors. 

The butler is like, lmao yeah Sly I know you didn’t do it and I’m not gonna stand guard here but you know, everyone is keeping an eye on y’all. And then he leaves the PCs, Mrs. M, Constance, and Dr. Magpie in the room with the body. 

Lars is about to go watch the kitchen staff but, before he goes, Sly says to him that he saw Cottonbottom and is obviously quite scared. Gangie, who used to work for the guy, overhears and asks what’s going on. Sly assumes Gangie is playing coy but rolls high enough to know that he isn’t. He saw a starkly white Cottonbottom and one of his known conspirators doesn’t know he’s back? Perhaps it was a ghost after all. 

Case Notes

My 2 fave bits of this episode were “bad to bad bad bad” (and the further riffing) and Daisy throwing increasingly bigger books at Sly.

Even with a Nat 1, Sly gets a 16 on Investigation. Wild. 

I don’t think Rekha got enough props for her “Cross examination” line so I’m mentioning it here.

Brennan said the ozone question was still open--but I assumed it was like the electricity smell from an electromagnet. That would make sense, right? Maybe he meant they hadn’t found the source of it specifically yet?

Brennan says Buck’s knife is a pronghorn knife. I assume they’re made from the animal’s horns? Even if they’re the kind that fall off every season, is that weird? Or is it just like human hair wigs? Also, does this world have leather?

I love that the dice keep supporting the narrative that Daisy simply cannot get her shit together when she’s with Sly because he distracts her too much. Delicious. Their whole relationship is delicious. 

OK, I am a tiny bit suspicious of Calliope. It’s partially the way she took control of the situation near the end and partially the fact that she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would be involved in this which would make her heel turn delicious. No hard evidence and obv she couldn’t be the person who actually stabbed a guy but idk. Just spitballing. I’m very curious about whether we’ve met everyone we’re going to meet more or less or if there are still outside people/hidden inside people. Because, in real life, a murderer could be literally anyone but in a story, you can’t just introduce a new villain all of a sudden at the end. Bad storytelling. Weak payoff. We’ll see how things start to pan out. 

[nefariouscryptid]

uhm uhm!!!!!!! tell me about !!! brian n plethora n cassandra’s relationship (: <3 i never see poly relationships and i’m v interested !!! and also brian 😔💖

They started dating their senior year of highschool and ever since been completely inseparable. They were social rejects, living in a more conservative part of Texas (Brian was openly Bi and also dealing with an abusive family, Plethora was Bi and Trans, and Cassandra got outed about a family situation regarding her father and his own brother being in a relationship) and they only had each other. They bonded through general same interests and found comfort in each other since they were all very non judgmental and generally fun to be around. They all ran away from their homes at 19 years old and began to get more into their life of crime to make more money.

They all got married when they were 20, even if it wasn’t legally they still all shared the same last name Valentino (which is from Brian) and all collectively went “missing” to get into a political world that promised them complete security and money. They all live in a secluded mansion in LA.

None of them get jealous towards each other and communicate nearly everything with one another, hence why their relationship is so healthy. Like they’re not the type to go and say shit like “oh You can’t have guy/girl friends or a social life outside of us” they trust each other. However regarding other people let’s say flirting with them, they get jealous, Brian being the worst when it comes to jealousy. That stems from undiagnosed and cared for BPD.

Speaking of Brian, he’s definitely the most protective and trigger happy when it comes to his partners. He obv knows when he should back off and trusts them to care for themselves, but a huge example of his impulsive personality regarding this is when he made a deal with Michelle Wilson to assassinate his main boss, Peter Durante, for subjecting Plethora to isolation without seeing his family or having his medication because of a compromised assassination attempt. That ended really bad for all of them.

He deals with paranoia with thinking that his family is going to leave him, and that leaves him with bouts of extreme depression and suicidal tendencies, which also makes him violent towards anyone he thinks is threatening to him + his lack of understanding towards social cues makes him misinterpret stuff. He tries really hard not to be this way, he doesn’t know why he gets the way he does and he feels terrible about it, and it gets hard for everyone.

Cassandra can also get pretty defensive, but not nearly to that extent. Hers is more of a normal response, while Brian’s is mental illness.

Plethora became way more confident when he met them, he was finally happy in his life and grew as a person. To him they gave him something to look forward to and he wants to be everything they need, even if they expect literally nothing out of him they just want him to be happy lol.

They deeply care about each other, and I don’t think anything could separate them other then death. Despite all the shit they go through together, they’re always there for each other and want to help one another. They’re always gassing each other up, doing stupid and fun shit together when they can, and they’re all extremely affectionate with eachother, Brian more physically, Plethora verbally, and Cassandra is both.

They can’t imagine life without each other.

[sheep-mc]

As promised from yesterday...

Yesterday following my not-so-brief rant post, I stated that I’d follow up the travesty of that event with a more in-depth analysis and more collected thoughts. That is what awaits you under the cut! Be warned though, there are going to be major spoilers for the event (and possibly things that occur from lesson 20 and prior)

First I’m going to give a summary of the event and how I view it. This is mostly for those of you who haven’t played the event yet, so you can understand why the community is so angry about it. If you’ve already played, feel free to skip the next 3 paragraphs.

It starts out with Lord Diavolo suggesting a party to improve the bonds between the exchange students and the student council. Asmodeus suggests that everyone should dress up - but nothing big, just small angel wings and such. Diavolo shakes his head and says that everyone should go all out, because if you’re going to dress up, you may as well go all the way. Several of the brothers (Mammon, Lucifer, Belphegor) express disdain for this, saying that they don’t want to get dressed up, but Diavolo uses his own magic to put them into outfits anyway. Not just any outfits. Their old Celestial Realm outfits. Simeon then mentions that Michael has given him a gift to give to the brothers, as a thank you for them treating the angels so well. The gift is only for the brothers, not MC, not Diavolo, just the brothers. Simeon aware of the effect the bangles will have on the brothers. He does not tell them this until they’ve put it on. He knows fully well that the bangles will cause them to act in more “righteous ways”. The bangles then react unexpectedly with Diavolo’s magic, causing the outfits and bangles to become irremovable. That is to say, they cannot take them off. It was forced upon them when several of them clearly showed that they did not want to go along with this, and now they cannot undo it. That’s the first issue.

After this, Diavolo still decides that he wants to hold the party, and Simeon agrees. The preparations continue nonetheless. Throughout the event, we speak to the brothers as they’re preparing for the party. Here we’re shown that the brainwashing of the bangles is gradual, not immediate. Mammon is able to resist it slightly at first, claiming that he’s going to cut the clothes off of him. Once he grabs the scissors, his behavior changes. He decides that what he’s doing is dangerous and instead goes to put the scissors away. This action scares Leviathan, who fears that they’re all going to turn out like Mammon and that he doesn’t want that to happen. When we’re alone with Lucifer and Satan, the bangles have only started to affect them, but it hasn’t fully kicked in. They express that they don’t like the situation at all and that they don’t feel like themselves, ending their interactions by telling MC to leave them alone because they don’t want to be seen like this. Speaking to the rest of the brothers, the effects of the bangles have been fully realized. Leviathan has put away all of his obsessions, offering a Ruri-Chan figure to MC because he ”doesn’t need it anymore”. He goes on to say that he was hiding behind anime and manga and that from now on he will work on nurturing his relationships with his brothers and being honest with MC about his feelings. Even if MC rejects him or calls him gross, he doesn’t get upset. This is obviously out of character for our beloved otaku.

The rest of the brothers suffer a similar fate. Beelzebub no longer feels hungry, claiming that instead of feeding himself, he wishes to feed others and see them happy. He says that he wants to be kinder, implying that he wasn’t kind enough before - which is fucking bullshit because holy shit this is Beel we’re talking about are you fucking kidding me you don’t think Beel was kind enough he was literally the nicest of the brothers what the fuck are you on about - ANYWAY. Belphegor goes on to say that he was wasting his life by sleeping it away, and that all of his brothers are good and that he wants to spend more time with them. He doesn’t want to take naps anymore, unless prompted by MC, and he says that he used unfair tactics when trying to win MC’s love. He also says that he won’t be doing that anymore, and is instead going to do things “the fair way”. Asmodeus offers you all of his beauty products, claiming that he was trying too hard to be beautiful before. If you choose to kiss him, he’ll go along with it, but say that he feels like he’s betraying his brothers and being unfair and sneaky. For some reason, I can’t recall much of Mammon’s interaction for the life of me. I remember him saying that he was mean and rude and greedy and shameless before, and how he wants to change to be a better person now, but I don’t remember the second half of the interaction. I just know it was bad. The event ends with the party being held, Diavolo and Simeon smiling and laughing, Solomon and Luke being concerned, and Lucifer overcoming the power of the bangle. Well, that’s what Lucifer says, but I believe he was lying.

Here’s my actual opinions on it:  It was fucked up! I left this bit out of the summary, but all of the brothers (after Lucifer and Satan) express that they don’t want to do anything unless you’re okay with it. They want to be someone good enough that you’d approve of it. They don’t want to upset their brothers. All in all, they’re prioritizing the thoughts and feelings of others over their own. They express hatred for their past selves, condemning their actions and interests as shameful and wrong. Even their most harmless actions. They got rid of every single bit of their own personality in order to “purify” themselves. This ideology is the exact embodiment of toxic positivity and it’s revolting. I would also like to focus more on how all of the brothers (except for Asmodeus and Beelzebub) showed that they didn’t like this idea. for the most part, they were strongly against it. Satan, who according to this event, has never been an angel, says that he doesn’t feel like himself at all. He shows the most fear towards the effects of the bangle and quite frankly it’s just. Disturbing to see someone like Satan so afraid. Lucifer tries to hide his worry, but his thoughts are similar to Satan’s, since he also says that he can’t rest because he doesn’t feel like himself.

Some of you might think that the changes were good or harmless or whatever, and you might have appreciated the fact that they’re trying to change for the better, but realize this: their change was forced. They didn’t do it of their own free will, they didn’t have any experiences that caused them to think or feel this way. It was all forced. They’ve been brainwashed. They are not doing this of their own accord. It’s not them. They are not themselves.

And this is not a side effect of the Celestial Realm or being an angel! If you’ve played through certain cards devilgram story (Belphegor’s “Hatred” or Lucifer’s “Glory Days”) you can see that the brothers are still themselves even though they are angels. They still have their personality and are not completely “holy” or “pure” or “righteous”. This is specifically a result of the bangles. If this had been part of the main story it would have been interesting. It could have been more thought out and well written and had a conclusive ending. So where am I going with this?

I believe that the devs had good intentions but executed them poorly. This is an event, meaning it’s non-canon and not related to the main story. I think that the devs wanted to show how toxic the beliefs of the angels can be, and they did good on that. That was genuinely disturbing to play through. What they’re missing is criticism. If the brother’s had returned to their normal selves and said “what the fuck was that”, then it would have been okay. If they had focused more on how wrong and weird the changes were, and how it’s actually bad, then that would have been a satisfying conclusion. But they didn’t. Well, there was one brother that supposedly returned to his normal self, right? Lucifer.

At the party, Lucifer tells MC that he’s returned to his normal self, but admittedly the clothes still cannot be removed. He shows that he didn’t enjoy the experience, but as he’s watching the rest of his brothers still controlled by the bangles, he...doesn’t do anything. He says that it’s interesting and that they should let it play out a bit more, just to watch them. Now, I am not a Lucifer simp. My MC has copious issues with him. However. This characterization is just PLAIN FUCKING WRONG! WHAT?! What were the devs thinking?! That’s Lucifer! He cares about his brothers above all else in this world! He was strongly against the angel outfit and bangle idea! He said that it made him feel unlike himself! Lucifer has experienced the brainwashing of the bangle first hand! He would never, EVER say something like that when he KNOWS how serious it is. Yes, he is a sadist. Yes, he likes to joke sometimes. But this? He would be way more concerned for them. Which is why I believe he was still under the effects of the bangle. I don’t have a full theory for how much it was affecting him at that point in time, but that will probably come about later.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the event thus far! It’s possible that the next event will have a callback to this one (considering how this one mentioned TSL: The Musical) but I highly doubt it. I also don’t think that there’s going to be continuation of this in the main story. I doubt we’ll ever get our resolution, but if you want one, I plan on rewriting the entire event on my Wattpad. I’ll announce it when I finish posting it, so feel free to follow for that or just check it out later. My dms should be open and obv you can comment/reblog on this post so if you want to discuss this more, feel free to intract!

[woogurl]

WOOSAN’S RELATIONSHIP ANALYSIS

yeah, it’s your girl, it’s me again, i’m back with another analysis, ‘cause i’m bored in quarantine. 

so, basically, i wanted to share my opinion on what i think woosan’s relationship is. as a woosan shipper, obviously i’m biased, but i’m going to be as practical and as impartial as i can possibly be. i wanted to do this because i know people think they’re either best friends, friends with benefits or actually romantically involved. i can say that i’m actually pretty uncertain about it, but i want to argue why i do think think they are at least in a intimate relationship. 

again, i’m not a professional body language reader/psychologist/analyst or whatever. these are solely based on my observations.

REASON ONE: woo’s body language/relationship with yeosang is completely different than his relationship with san. 

Now people argue that they’re both woo’s best friend. which i agree that you can certainly have two best friends. however, in this case, it’s still different? woo puts a lot of emphasis on his relationship with both san and yeo.

yes, i know you can all hear this picture, woo always needs to emphasize his four years of friendship with yeo, and even picked yeo when he had to choose between him and san as his bestfriend. also keep in mind that woo left bighit bts for yeo. that’s a real ass friend.

which left san devastated, i mean look at the way he looked at mingi, like wtf, you’re not woo. lmfao. 

woo and yeo have been friends for four years, yet i think most of us can agree that the nature of his relationship with san, is just different.

woo sees san as his other half/twin, by the way he’s been friends with yeo for five years now. again the language is completely different. on the other hand, san wrote:

i’m not entirely sure what he meant by you also, the not sure was the translator’s note. but as you can see their responses for the chemistry that they have for each other is entirely different. 

Let’s move on to the legendary asmr video. 

again, they’re super physical, just look at the way san touches/grab woo. anyhow, we aren’t there yet.i wanted to emphasize something else. that being the talk after.  i’ve highlighted the parts that i think are important to take note of.

WY: You always go along with whatever I do

WY: And you take interest in the things I like

WY: I'm very thankful for that

WY: No one takes care of me better than you

WY: If you think I'm exaggerating, it's to the point where even my parents asked him to take care of me

ummmmm.....

WY: Take care of me in the future, too, please

S: You're cool

S: You’re cool and

S: I honestly

S: Now I can sincerely

S: To the people around me or my relatives

S: I can proudly say that my friend is Wooyoung!

S: You're that kind of friend

S: To that point where I'm not embarrassed

S: Or rather say you're my friend that's worth showing off!

S: I think this is more than enough!

you can’t tell me that this doesn’t legitimately sound like a love confession.

Next, the handshakes man? i don’t think i should include all of their handshakes as this would get too long, it already is, but you guys get the gist. they have so many like jesus christ. whyyy?

Lastly amicus and aras. The fact that woo really went searching for a word or saying meaning a friend forever is very telling to me. also note here they were the only ones in each others fancams which was super sweet.

REASON TWO(yeh, we JUST got here): woo’s obsession with san, now a lot of people think woosan is one-sided because woo is very good with hiding his emotions on cam. but a lot of us now are a lot more aware that woo sticks to san like gum. 

san literally asked him if he was a piece of glue, also hi baby yunho. 

literally like glue, you can’t tell me this isn’t boyfriend culture. 

as soon as seonghwa leaves for the mission on wanted film woo goes back to san. lol, i know he was prob just tryna get a better view but i wouldn’t put it past him. anyway, like glue. 

woo’s leg over san’s, like glue. or that time woo ended up in san’s bed, even though he was supposed to be with hongjoong/yunho/etc?

don’t believe me? then just take san’s word for it.

also, it’s supposed to be, “you really like me more than i thought.” so even san is surprised by woo’s clingyness.

i don’t even much to say about this interview it speaks for itself. woo was literally all over san during it. this is also one of the interviews that completely solidify my beliefs of them being in an intimate relationship whatever it may have been. i just felt like this interview was like, “yeh, we’re together.” that’s just the aura i got from it also it was valentine’s day or at least themed?

also, i’ll mention but not add all the times san has said that woo comes to his room. it’s very often there’s plenty of vids that we avid woosan shippers know of. moving on with woo’s obsession with san.

that time the members were supposed to post pics of themselves, and most of woo’s at least three pics were of him with san. don’t you like san too much woo?

REASON THREE: Body language in general

The stares man, the stares...You just don’t look at friends this way. 

including these stares: 

i’ve also noticed in a couple of videos that wooyoung tries to avoid san’s stares,  there are times where he just doesn’t even look at him even though he knows san is staring at him. sometimes he literally turns his face completely away from san and i think it’s to avoid getting lost in san’s eyes. i want to express that woo does this very intentionally, as i said before he’s much more aware of the camera than san. it’s hard to notice because these aren’t motion pictures, but i want you to watch their moments and you’ll notice that most, if not all the time that woo always turns his head away first while san stare’s linger for at least one second longer.

otherwise, we’d just get more moments like this:

REASON FOUR(very important): How touchy they are with each other.

san’s nono is square on woo’s ass, that’s far from straight. anyway, moving on, they’re very touchy and the fact, that they’re even more touchy when the cameras are off is very telling to me. like i said the valentine vlive was enough to convince me that they’re physically intimate and the fact that san said woo likes to come to his room a lot. i also want to note that anytime san mentions this woo gets incredibly uncomfortable? why? you can just say you like playing games together or whatever, but woo always freaks out. lmfao. also apparently they were in a room together and in bed together according to woo. i think something may happened, because woo was more clingy than usual on camera, and their expressions were quite transparent.

REASON FIVE: The time they spend together off camera

Since the vlive from a while ago, the christmas one, we learned they spend a lot of time together off camera. i already did an analysis about this for the woosansang drama post. but the fact that the members felt so pouty about how much time they spend together tells me that they spend a lot of time together. i also want to note that i think mingi’s comments are important because after watching him stuff his hands in his pants and literally reading off the piece of paper that the staff writes telling them to do something it’s obv this boi skipped idol training. ‘cause he fcking pours tea. lol but anyway mingi said that one day while with yeo, yeo said, “san really likes woo, huh?” and they all started screaming that’s weird ‘cause obv, it’s so gay.

here’s another moment, where mingi is exposing their asses. lol. even the members say they’re constantly afraid that he’ll say something he’s not supposed to. mind you that they’re probably having a semi-casual convo.

lol. why bring up woo so suddenly mingi?

mingi’s like btch stop lying.

so, mingi laid it all out for us, but san said, “no no no, he’s the clingy one, woo’s the one always following me--WELL, we follow each other.” anyway, i do feel like san brought this up because people always assume that he’s the clingy one, after all he didn’t have to read it i felt like he read it to check us lmfao.

REASON SIX: people may not all agree on this, i get that this will be extremely controversial but i honestly do believe the escape woosan vlive was solid proof enough for me that they are physically intimate.

i know i said before that i think they were tired, but someone said it was apparently only 4pm, so now i’m convinced they were drunk. lmfao. anyhow, there’s a lot of moaning, and “stop rubbing”, as i already made an analysis about this i’m just gonna comment about the part that sold me and that was the part where san literally shouted woo’s name as he was holding in his voice. which convinced me that woo was being a little shit rubbing him inappropriately. let’s be honest, woo is THAT type of person(to secretly rub someone off in public) lol. there’s just no explanation for that shout, and the “you want me to tell?” and woo’s “no!” yeah, no, you can’t convince that they weren’t doing some freaky shit. lol

lastly.

REASON SEVEN: Their commitment to woosan.

now we can agree that most ships do not like being shipped, but woosan came up with their own ship name and handshake, as well as phrase for it. amicus ad aras as well as san: WOO woo: SAN. also, the time they walked together holding hands on tour with little umbrella’s that read woo and san. your ship could never.

do i think some of it is fanservice? sure, i mean KQ even made an entire woosan vcr.

but, definitely not all of it, and woo has said himself during the lie detector test, that it isn’t just business.

they even have a fandom name, i mean? come on? i’m sure the company isn’t forcing them to do it lol. i think they really just are committed that much to each other. also, when someone asked about woosanhwa, they said they’d think about it. lmfao. what woosan share is something entirely different than what we’re used to.

anyway, thas it. thank you for your time. c;

[millepara]

I’ve eaten and slept and stuff since last night’s news so I have my thoughts in order some now. really my opinion boils down to: the concept of aikatsu planet is genuinely cool, even if it’s not my personal thing! and I can follow the logic of why they decided to go this route, but I don’t see why they decided to brand it as aikatsu rather than something totally new. everything else past here is just me saying that again but MUCH longer, so you can stop reading haha

really, my feelings about the new series are being pulled in a lot of directions at once. the more I look at the character designs the more I LOVE them, they’re so pretty and creative and colorful, and I think the art style itself is so cute!! like,

look at her little face! look at those bumpy eyelashes! so cute!! the dress is very pretty too, reminiscent of some My Little Heart coords or Akari’s Swan Lake PR. Hana’s look in particular strongly reminds me of my fav 80s cartoon girl,

Lady Lovely Locks (also all of her critters are reminding me of Dressiers, now that I’m looking at them). she predated my childhood by some years so I still don’t 100% know what she’s about, but when I was v little I somehow ended up with some toys and other branded stuff that I was absolutely obsessed with. at the time the fluffiest, princessiest media available to me were Barbie and Disney princesses, which were practically sensible compared to the rainbow colors and absurd ballgowns of these girls... I think not knowing anything about it and being consumed with imagining what these fancy, fancy princesses were doing with their magical hair was the foundation for me still liking things like precure and aikatsu even now that I’m a grown-ass adult (as well as the entire character and aesthetic of mychara Milk). so yeah! I love the new idols. I can’t think of a single complaint about them. they’re fantastic.

(and then the less-than-positive part)

I’m ok with the idea that these idols are just avatars that the real girls inhabit from time to time, too. they couldn’t make character designs like that for just some normal girls who decide to go to idol school, and then have anyone believe that. they could only do it with this premise. but it also means we won’t see those good character designs so much, as pointed out in that last reblog--possibly as little as only during the performances themselves? though it’s way too early to say for sure.

also... that’s just like pripara. there’s an awful lot about aipura that’s just like pripara, or just like pretty rhythm... which is its own bad aftertaste to deal with, even if I’m on board with the concepts themselves. obviously crossover and copying happens all the time with these shows, but the appeal of aikatsu for me has always been the parts that aren’t pripara, because... I can just watch pripara for that (but better-executed)....

but then that brings up the obvious difference and my personal sticking point with aipura, the live action. it’s not the first time an anime has turned into a live action show, so there’s precedent (mostly from 10+ years ago, though). there's literally no better plot than “girls that turn into idol avatars” to use this gimmick with, so that’s neat. but it’s not accessible to nearly as wide an audience as an aikatsu anime. I’m sure little kids won’t care much if at all (maybe they’ll like it a lot, even!), and obv they thought about this when they decided to switch to live action, so I don’t exactly fault them for it. but despite being a children’s show, aikatsu does cater directly to adults as well, with their for Lady merch and so on... so it seems like a confusing decision to purposefully cast off those fans they previously courted.

personally speaking, my interest as an adult in watching live action children on tv is nonexistent. I like art including specifically anime art, I like how utterly brainless watching anime is, I like voice acting, I get none of this from live action. I tried to watch phantomirage once and imo....... it sucked. I also have face blindness so there’s an added dimension of finding live action characters wholly unrelatable when I can only identify them by hairstyle and clothing (assuming they never change their hair or clothes)... I can’t imagine the characters’ personalities or plots of individual eps will be as fun and ridiculous as in anime aikatsu either, not when they have to do everything irl.

again, that’s all my personal view, so if you disagree, great!! I do sincerely hope there are people that like aikatsu planet, because.... ?? actually I don’t know why, but it doesn’t need to fail just bc I personally am not excited about live action, haha. I guess I just hope the idol group itself does well, at least. they don’t deserve any backlash from this weird decision some exec made. I haven’t seen anyone taking out their disappointment with the news on them, thankfully.

and it’s not like I think the actors are talentless or anything! heck, I enjoyed the youtuber-style vid of main actor Date Kaya they uploaded last night. it was fun. they’re all cute, their personalities are fine, I’m sure their acting is fine (...for j-dramas.......), and they probably sing well too (I didn’t get much of an impression from the live songs, so no opinion there yet). I can see how the youtube stuff would appeal to a lot of people, and it’s clever how they can frame it as the real-life aikatsu of the actors. I’m not even remotely into youtubers but I still can theoretically see myself checking it out on occasion. but that doesn’t have any link to what I understand the show aikatsu to be? where’d all that go?

the most basic solution to everything here, as others have said, is to have made this its own new series--even at the expense of cancelling aikatsu altogether. they wouldn’t have this situation where everyone’s making this impossible comparison of a well-loved anime to a drama that no one knows anything about. the fact that there’s no apparent continuation (yet) between the anime and drama wouldn’t even be an issue. we’d be able to remember aikatsu as this past thing we all enjoyed, instead of this thing that made the wildest u-turn in order to cling to relevancy.

and then even though I can form opinions on (gestures above), there’s still so much that we don’t know. obviously we’ve got till january to wait, so it makes sense. but the more unique and exciting things they share about it, the more good anticipation they’d generate, right...? right now all long-time aikatsu fans and especially players are so full of nerves that it’s hard to be optimistic about what’s not yet known. a simple assurance that I can either transfer my mycharas and use old coords in planet, or will be able to continue playing parade, would go a long way toward making me ok with any and all aikatsu planet news. I’m sure there’s other players who feel the same. but based on past years, we probably won’t know anything about that till v late this year...

so in summary: 1) please bandai tell me the fate of my wretched mycharas I beg of you

and

2) boy am I a loser for caring so much about aikatsu....... lmao.....!!!

[iampikachuhearmeroar]

okay so. i probably shouldn’t talk about this considering that i have never experienced it myself.... but whenever i see a story about some hollywood star relapsing into their addiction of/maybe overdosing on whatever drug, there’s always a difference between how people react when it’s a female star (say demi lovato overdosing back in 2018 after a few years of sobriety) and a male star (most currently dax shepard relapsing after 16 years of sobriety).

for example, back in 2018 when demi overdosed on heroin, there was a whole stream of people on the buzzfeed articles, alt press articles and even just the normal news stories about it commenting things like: “demi’s just an attention-seeking bitch like she’s always been. she wanted to be in the headlines and that’s what she got. SHE NEEDS TO CONTROL HER ADDICTION of being an attention whore for the press and also her drug addiction, obviously. but shame on her for relapsing!!!! how lazy is she??? she is NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!” or there were also streams of “i have absolutely NO SYMPATHY for this spoilt brat girl doing this for media attention! snooze button on a slow news day. she needs to learn to control herself! the world doesn’t revolve around you and your drug addiction, honey. go back to therapy to get your head out of your ass!” type comments on every article about demi. like woohoo for you, brenda or coleman. here’s your “stupid fucking asshole of the day” award 🥇.

whereas with dax sheppard in the last week (and ok i just read an upworthy article about it on fb just now bc i’m bored) and everyone’s like: “oh how BRAVE of dax for speaking out about his relapsing into his addiction!!!! the poor man! fame must be hard with lockdown!!! what a good hearted man, addiction is hard in general anyway! good for him for speaking out again, i don’t have much else to say.” and the like. in other words, all i’ve read in response to dax’s relapse into his prescription drug addiction is is an outpouring of support. although, then again, it’s probably because i’ve only read one article on it.... or maybe i did read another stream of comments the other day..... but i can’t remember them.

but my point is: why the fuck is the backlash so virulently derogatory and hurtful when it’s a woman relapsing into their addiction or overdosing???? whereas when it’s a dude, everyone’s all chill and supportive and calling him brave for admitting that he’s relapsing???? like if another female celeb said something similar during this time, they’d be hit with the stuff that demi received when overdosing two years ago.

okay yeah, obvs there were people supporting demi back in 2018 saying things like the fake comment i wrote for dax, saying things such as: “addiction is a cycle that’s hard to kick and leave behind. i’ve been there, and most of us will be at some point in our life. but i’d never wish it on anyone. that’s the one thing no one understands about addiction: that relapse can happen for most people. my heart goes out to demi!” or the like. but mostly it was the virulent bullshit attacking her for being weak and being an attention whore and not allowing her any empathy or sympathy bc “shame! shame! shame on her for breaking! how weak she is 🙄! where IS HER self-restraint as a YOUNG W O M A N?? this is why young women don’t know how to control themselves these days!” as if demi, as a young woman in hollywood, is responsible for teaching young girls and women to control themselves. like shut the fuck up doris/henry. that’s YOUR goddamned fucking job as parents/was your job as parents. it is no ones fault but your own if your parenting methods are/were defective enough that you think people solely rely on tv stars to raise kids (much like barney stinson in himym thinking that bob barker from the price is right was his dad growing up). the raising of someone’s child is not some young celeb’s fucking job, unless it’s THEIR OWN FRICKIN KID. for fuck’s sake.

whereas everyone seems supportive and understanding of dax’s admission of relapse and sending him “love and strength is this dire time 😊!” and other overly nice stuff and saying stuff about hai family going through this time as well. all like “oh his family must be struggling to but that’s okay because he’s open about his struggle with everyone! so BRAVE!” etc etc etc. there is no mention so far of him having to “control himself”. or maybe i haven’t read far enough. not that i will, considering i read like one celeb story a month at the very least, so as to not overload myself on bitterness like i did back in my teens with constant access to the E! news/celeb channel.

all i’m saying is that people need to have more sympathy and empathy towards people who struggle with addiction and relapsing, regardless of wether they’re male or female (or obvs trans and non-binary etc as well). like obvs this is coming from someone who has never experienced it herself/themself, but that doesn’t mean that i show no sympathy or empathy for their struggle. and i also so say this regardless of their background, no matter whether they’re rich stars or the poor drug addict on the street.

because i easily could become an alcoholic or whatever else, myself, at any point of my life.... because life can throw any fucking thing at you and out of nowhere..... then suddenly you’re using drugs or alcohol to cope. then you develop an addiction over many years. obviously this is more endemic in hollywood, considering that you can get your hands on literally everything and anything..... if you know the right people etc. and it’s also why i ended up ditching my idea of wanting to be a hollywood star when i was older, back when i was 16. because even when you can have the worlds best therapists and drug rehab facilities at your service/disposal as a hollywood star, that doesn’t exclude you from struggling with drug addiction and relapse or needing sympathy/empathy and support. it’s easy as fuck to fall back into your addiction when you’re unfortunately surrounded by it in hollywood on a frequent basis anyway.

anyway yeah. here’s another rant for october; on a topic i probably shouldn’t rant on lmao.

[daesungfmd]

hwang daesung   /   the enthusiast!

the esfp is often the life of the party, entertaining and engaging others with humor and enthusiasm. they notice whether other people are having fun and do their best to create a good time for all. esfps are generally friendly and likable, but can be hard to get close to; although they tend to be very open, they are reluctant to be serious or to talk about anything negative. they live in the moment, which can upset other people who feel that the esfp’s life should be more organized. the reality is that the esfp is confident in their ability to go with the flow and get themselves out of any potential trouble they might get themselves into. the esfp also likes to push their limits to see just how much they can get away with. the esfp feels that it’s easier to apologize than it is to get permission, and because of their curious nature, they are constantly apologizing for their actions. luckily, they have enough charm to keep most people from being mad at them for very long. (truity.com, personalitygrowth.com)

aesthetic 1  &  headcanon 2.

it took a hot minute for daesung to fully grow into his personality because his surroundings earlier on in life kept him from reaching his full potential, but once he finally settled and got comfortable........ Oh, Man.

once he realized just how good it feels to make others laugh, he was always trying to crack some witty joke or put on a show to amuse a crowd, even if the amusement came at his own expense.

but he’s a pretty sensitive guy, so there were definitely times when he got his feelings hurt because he was made into a joke rather than making jokes and........ that wasn’t so fun, but overall, he liked the aspect of entertaining better than performing or any other part of being an idol. hence why it was impossible to get him to shut tf up on variety shows, built up a bit of a reputation for being a blabbermouth, attention-seeker, having no manners, etc but it was (mostly) excused because he was young, fresh and excitable.

the characteristic mischief of an esfp was always kind of there, even as a child, but reached its strongest form once impulse debuted and daesung was constantly searching for a way to bend the rules / step over the boundaries set by managers. learned to be sneaky and always!!!! have an excuse prepared in case he got caught.

obv his respect for his members and fans outweighs his curiosity/blind trust that things will turn out okay because....... if it weren’t for them, he definitely would’ve gotten into a big scandal by now.

the mischief also took a lighter form of irritating the ever-living hell out of his groupmates and close friends for fun when he was a little younger. had a lot of energy to spare, of course he used it in the wrong ways and probably came Very close to making some people hate him fdhvbhdjsf but he’s a charmer! tends to push his luck until it breaks and then get to repairing it immediately. knows when to stop, but like...... barely.

flights / long drives with him were definitely absolute hell in the first few years. sorry to the impulse members who had to either listen to him talk for Hours or wear headphones to shut him out. man’s got a lot to say!

also used to argue for fun, but would back down if it got too serious/heated and be like “damn my bad i didn’t mean it like that </3″

it doesn’t take much to make daesung happy. he looks for the bright side, finds little pieces of happiness in the most mundane things. sees a cloud that looks like a dog or something?...... damn, his day is made!

so he kind of ~seems~ high maintenance at times but i promise he isn’t.

super curious about the world around him, likes to meet new people and experience new things. he was a ~little~ more strict with himself when he lived with impulse, but now that he lives alone, he rarely spends his free time at home. likes to do extensive research on new attractions/seasonal events/lesser known corners of seoul/etc so he’s always got something planned for off-days. 

if he can’t find anything fun to do on his own, then he’ll just call up someone in his extensive social circle to hang out for a while. ofc there are days when he prefers to be alone/at home, but they’re...... very rare. he requires a lot of day-to-day excitement and social interaction.

speaking of his social circle..... he has really good social skills most of the time, can usually read a room and figure out what is or isn’t appropriate. he will always be the guy who’s trying to crack a joke, but he knows when he needs to contain his energy / knows when someone’s comfortable enough with him for him to just let it out. doesn’t have a lot of enemies because he never goes looking for trouble, per se. one of his biggest priorities in life is making friends, so it reflects in how he treats people. now that he’s a little older, his energy is a bit different from what it used to be, anyway. can appreciate a chill night in way better than he could years ago.

avoided direct conflict very hard when he was a trainee/rookie. it was impossible to trick him into shit-talking anyone else, took more than his fair share of scoldings from managers/trainers/etc because he had no backbone. bold enough to do things he wasn’t supposed to do, not quite bold enough to defend himself. doormat. he’s become a lot better about speaking up in the past few years, but sometimes he takes it too far???? once he’s pushed too hard, he tends to Blow Up and hurt feelings. doesn’t necessarily mean yelling, though; he’s really, really good at appearing calm while saying everything he’s been bottling up and aiming to hurt.

most of the time, though, he still prefers to avoid conflict. will say/do whatever he has to to get out of the situation and then will move on immediately.

has always been social, but no matter how well you think you know him, chances are you’ve only seen the surface. stems from that desire to stay light-hearted and avoid more serious conversations. he’s good with listening to and dealing with other peoples’ problems, and in some ways, he’s good at dealing with his own problems, but..... he has a tendency to make things harder for himself by never admitting when he’s going through a tough time / carrying all the weight and dealing with it himself. doesn’t want to give anyone any reasons to think he isn’t always optimistic/happy.

even though everyone clearly has bad days????? but he is who he is. head empty.

so he typically only shares the sides of himself that he views as good/desirable and shoves everything else into a locked safe. doesn’t mean that what you see is fake, because it definitely isn’t, just means that there’s a whoooole lot more to daesung than people think there is.

at the same time, it isn’t that hard to unlock the metaphorical safe. especially nowadays, he’s becoming more comfortable with the fact that he’s human. he’s happy to share more of himself if he thinks he’s sharing it with someone who actually cares, but he rarely finds people who he thinks would want to know him in his entirety because let’s be real....... there are a few sides of him that are a bit yucky.

including a bitter side that holds onto grudges for literal decades and a lazy side of him that leeches off of everyone around him, but if you’re only seeing it at a surface level, his gratitude and happiness dull the edges  <3333 of course i’ll let you buy this for me/cook for me/run my errands/whatever else <3333 why not omg <3333 wow i really owe you one <3333 (meanwhile hardly anyone ever gets anything from him in return Other than that gratitude lmao)

kinda skates by on handouts tbh? like....... he lives alone, yeah, but he feels like he could not function on his own. this is also subconsciously a small part of the reason why he’s so social. makes sure he’s always meeting new people and keeping them interested so that he never finds himself alone / “helpless”. tends to gravitate towards people who have something to offer him.

but he ~can~ function on his own, he just doesn’t want to. likes to be reminded that people care about him, which is why he’s constantly either making new friends, hanging out with friends he already has or sweet-talking someone into doing something for him. just makes him feel....... better about himself / more secure.

to be fair!!! it’s not like daesung takes and takes and takes and is a shitty friend in return. he cares about people so, so much, especially his friends. whether you’ve known him for ten days or ten years, he’s a great person to have in your corner. his optimism, for one, is something that he’ll gladly share --- if you need reassurance that you’re doing the right thing or a reminder that good things are in your future, there’s no better person to turn to. he’s a good listener (most of the time) and his shoulders are always available to lean on, no questions asked. not the type to leave you hanging for any reason; whether you call him at 3pm on a saturday or 3am on a tuesday, he’ll make time for you. 

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 122 Poll Results

The chapter 122 poll closed with 1,472 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,428 Responses

This is one for the record books. Chapter 122 is officially the highest rated chapter since we started the poll. A whopping 85.2% of respondents gave it the top rating. The previous record holder was chapter 101 (79.8%) which featured the long awaited return of the Survey Corps.

5 out of 5 for the pig who seeks freedom! Fight For Freedom! Revolt! Revolt! Revolt!

Each chapter is becoming my favorite every time and this one isn't different. It's a fantastic read.

In a single chapter Founder Ymir became one of my top five characters in this series point blank.

I thought nothing could top chapter 100. 122 is the best one of the entire story. 

A turning point. Very well executed. Congrats, Isayama, can't wait to see what you still have on store!

Yet another mind-blowing chapter, honestly one of my favorites in the series! Honestly, this was a chapter I have been awaiting since I started getting into SnK, and those feelings increased following the basement reveal chapters where we are left to wonder which parts of Ymir's story are true and which are false.

One of the best chapters of the series! Definitely gave me a new appreciation for Attack on Titan from a story telling standpoint.

I love how many questions this answers and also creates; I’m happy that there are still many things left a mystery!

Aamazing chapter, I fucking cried. Now give me Historia, Isayama. I need her.

I'm just so happy to see it finally coming together and not be let-down

If Floch doesn't die in the Rumbling I want a refund

Worldwide genocide, taking care of kids, get you a man who can do both

LEEEEET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!!!

Damn, Isayama.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 1,439 Responses

You guys are almost as split on this question as Ymir’s Titan Powers are. Speaking of, she also happens to directly occupy the two most common answers, with 48.7% rating their favorite moment as either her backstory, or her conversation with Eren.The fall of the walls takes third place, followed by Eren’s revival and the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter.

WHO IS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR 'STARTING THIS STORY?' 1,419 Responses

You started this story, didn’t you: pig who got freed?  45.1% feel that the earliest in story event makes for a good starting point.  Just over ¼ of respondents felt the Founder Ymir Fritz is most responsible.  8.4% feel it’s Eren, and only 3.4% chose Grisha for whom the quote originally signified.  The most popular write-in answer, King Fritz, overtook poor Grisha at 4.2%.  Variations on King Fritz in the write-ins numbered almost 200.

People's greed. It started with the first King Fritz and it continued with the next generations

The Eldians (First Fritz)

Isayama. He started the whole story! If that wasn't him, the pigs would not run away.

Everybody has played their own part, it is not simply a matter of what single person is the most responsible.

The Attack titan

The Marleyean military higher ups that ordered Bertolt, Reiner, Annie and Marcel to breach the walls of Paradis Island

Those that blamed Ymir

The spinal fluid that was inside the three because if that wasn't there, titans would have never existed in the first place.

The cycle of violence/hatred/slavery. The King Fritz probably wasn't the first to be this way. The story has no true beginning because it's a cycle, but Eren will be the end.

King Dickz

The first King. Why isn't it an option?

WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST CONNECTED TO/PARALLELS YMIR THE MOST? 1,422 Responses

Our current queen seems to resemble the first queen quite a bit, with almost half of respondents, at 46.8% saying Historia parallels original Ymir the most.  35% feel Ymir is most connected to, well, Ymir.  14.3% chose Eren, and a sliver of votes went to Zeke at 1.6%.

Though there are more parallels to  Freckled Ymir, the pregnancy of Ymir Fritz can be a connection-foreshadowment of Historia's pregnancy plan. So I'll say that there are parallels to both Freckled ymir and Historia.

Mikasa is a lot like pre freedom ymir

Anyone who has been trapped in life

Connected to: Eren. Parallels: Freckled Ymir.

both Historia and freckled Ymir, obvs. And Mikasa, to a lesser extent

A lot of the cast parallel OG Ymir

Grisha

Definitely Freckled Ymir. She took the blame of all those people in the hopes of being useful or wanted through her sacrifice and then got the power of the titans. 

Ymir has parallels to Historia, freckled Ymir and Zeke

Time will show.

I'd say both Historia and Ymir: the cult picked up Ymir, who was a homeless child, similar to how Founder Ymir was a slave without name or status; the two of them stood for their people even after they've been denounced out of cowardice and fought for someone else until their very end, out of pure selflessness. Historia parallels Founder Ymir by how she became a slave of her blood, and a tool to be used.

I was gonna say Oluo, but he never actually lost his tongue.

HAVE YOUR OPINIONS SHIFTED NEGATIVELY ON ELDIA? 1,421 Responses

In a conflict with no clear start, we get to see further back into the past!  But did the revelations change your mind?  The vast majority at 66.3% don’t give a flying fritz about who started it, they just want to see the bloodshed end.  12.7% say their outlook has changed but Marley is more in the wrong still; and only 5.3% had this chapter change their mind to the Eldians being most at fault.

All the men in power are as bad as each other

Both nations committed atrocities

Both sides are slaves to history, Eldia today is not responsible for the actions 2000 years ago. 

Eldia in the past I always figured were some tyrannical force, I mean what else would happen with an ancient civilisation discovering the Power of the Titans. But Marley's propaganda having some truth to it doesn't mean they're justified in their treatment of Eldians in the modern day who had nothing to do with the original Eldia. 

How could we know? What was the relationship between eldia and Marley before Ymir turned into a titan? Was Marley in the wrong before they were overtaken by eldia/even before king fritz took Marley people prisoner?

King Fritz is the one to blame. Not all of Eldia and ESPECIALLY not the Survey Corps.

Marley is more in wrong because they are continuing to perpetuate the conflict in the present.

The current characters we love and want to end up happy have nothing to do with the past, they just want to be free.

EVERYONE IS IN THE WRONG BUT THAT'S HOW THE WORLD WORKS

There's neither bad or right in this story "Everyone can become a god or a devil, all it takes is for someone to claim that to be the truth" 

WHO IS THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE IN THE MANGA THUS FAR? 1,433 Responses

In a story filled with lovable characters, there’s also tons of douchenozzles.  67.7% believe the original King Fritz is the worst of them all. 17.2% took the intellectual route and responded with “Yes”.

All of them are rotten, selfish and full of hatred people who only think about themselves and are ready to manipulate own children (or other people) for own benefits.

first king Fritz of Eldia and Eren 

Gabi a.k.a. Garbage

I believe king fritz and gross deserve eatch other, they are the assholes of their times

I'm surprised Zeke finally got a rival in being the worst human ever in person of King Fritz.  

No recognition for our very own Darius 'poo-chair' Zackly? 

Most have a at least some humanizing (if not redeeming) qualities, but both King Fritz and Gross are evil to the core

King Fritz, but Flock is also an big asshole (it's never a bad time to point that)

Where's Zeke? To be honest I can't decide between Fritz, Floch, and Zeke.

Who the fuck put floch here, come here and fight 

Why on earth are Karina and Alma here? They were horrid mothers to their kids; the others are guilty of murder, torture and genocide.  

Ymir Fritz because she received godlike powers and decided to stay with a power hungry king; she was free and could have done anything but because of her slave mentality she decided to stay with him for 13 years! as uncle Ben said "With great power comes great responsibility"

The 145th king is the only one who did unreasonable bad things to his people, he literally allowed his people to be enslaved all over the world and he allowed the future genocide of his people. The worst thing is this doesn't do anything. It doesn't save the world from anything. Even the paradise he created was all for himself because he couldn't deal with reality. His logic is faulty, but even so he couldn't even do the job himself. The only one that can be worst than him is Zeke who's another evil man who wants to exterminate his own people. But, unlike Karl, Zeke is willing to do the job himself.

That goddamn pig

WHAT IS THE TREE YMIR FOUND? 1,424 Responses

In a chapter with so many answers, we still have vague origins!  Starting from the start, what in the world is that tree?  Over half of you, at 55.5%, think it’s Attack on Titan’s version of the Yggdrasil tree from Norse mythology.  24.2% say it’s the source of all organic matter we’ve heard discussed.  11.3% say it just grew out of what it’s housing, and 5.9% think it’s similar to the forest of giant trees.

A connection between a human and the Earth, hence the Devil of All Earth

A wellspring or hidden primordial lake

Yggdrasil but is the source of all organic matter somehow, and I think it's somehow related to the trees on Paradis being so big.

A hideout for that Hallucigenia thing left by the devil

It appears almost as a man and women embracing. Adam and Eve??

It doesn't matter. It was never about the origin of the titans, it was about the power of the titans and the moral implications of it. How the titans came to be is irrelevant.

The Great Deku Tree dungeon

Titan tree. It is probably the same species as the trees surrounding it, but has grown unnaturally large due to the parasite in it's water source.

Tree

WHAT IS THE THING IN THE TREE YMIR FOUND? 1,421 Responses

Another layer of mystery within the mystery tree!  Two main thoughts emerged and are almost even in popularity.  46.9% believe it is the source of all organic matter; wheread 44.3% say it’s a parasite of unknown origin.  3.2% say it’s in fact the devil itself.

A connection to the earth, making her the Devil

A *Symbiote* of unknown origin

A root of the tree that connects whoever it touches with the paths realm

A root of the tree that's been soaked and absorbing the water; the water is the real source.

I've seen enough hentai to know that is an alien

It could be the very first living being on this planet, a sort of progenitor from which all genes and all variations of biodiversity came to be.

Just a spine in the water turning little girl to big girl. What's supposed to be special about that?

This world's version of Níðhöggr, the many legged dragon that eats at the roots of the Tree of Life.

The spine of the previous founder

The Great Deku Tree dungeon boss. Ymir lost.

A poorly designed shit-machine that can't get the job done

A L I E N S

DID YMIR TEMPORARILY DIE WHEN SHE FELL IN THE TREE? 1,425 Responses

When Ymir fell into the tree, did she drown?  The majority of the fanbase doesn’t feel anything like that happened, whereas over a ¼ at 26.6% feel she died and was revived.  5% believe she died, and was thereafter controlled by the parasite type thing.

Dying and being brought back to life is meant to be Zeke's thing!!

I think she was almost dying but the parasite healed her.

It revived her and created a clone within the paths dimension.

I think Ymir's body as a child is still in that tree to this day, with the parasite still attached to her. It was deep underground, thus affecting the ground shared by its roots (assuming this is Paradis), and being the reason for all the giant trees. It also explains a little Titans being creatures of the Earth, and Ymir forming them with sand.

She became a Titan seconds before dying

She probably passed out for a few seconds after she drowned, and it was during that brief state of unconsciousness that parasite attached to her.

Ymir the human died, and Ymir the Titan was born. That's why Ymir the human is in the Paths and not Ymir the Titan. Ymir the Human sculpts the titan body for her Titan self, because time is infinite and strange in Paths.

A mix of both Yes answers - it revived her but also controlled her body so that she could only watch on as an observer. It makes her more of a slave without a free will as something else is literally controlling her body from within her and she can’t do anything about it

P A T H S

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST STANDOUT TO YOU ABOUT YMIR'S TITAN DESIGN? 1,429 Responses

We finally got to see the original founding titan in the flesh!  The ribs sticking out stuck out to 39.7% the most.  29.5% of you found it interesting that the overall design was uglier than the goddess like depictions we’ve seen.  17.6% went for the skull face she has, and 11.8% simply went for the HUGE size.

All of above, just look at that atrocity

Her missing eyes

Everything, the ribs were the first thing I noticed with the face being next. It took me a 2nd read through the chapter to realize that she is bigger than the Colossal titan. Definitely one of the best titan designs from Isayama

How malnourished it looks

It's terrifying and it's the fusion of the 9 titans

The fact that it looks nothing like I expected or imagined 

Everything about it - One can see exactly why the truth about her was easily manipulated.

ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, HOW OFFENSIVE TO YOU IS THE FACT THAT THE ORIGINAL WARHAMMER TITAN HAD HAIR? 1,418 Responses

This question was for that one guy who absolutely could not deal with the original WHT’s hair. You’re in good company, but the results are about as polarized as global politics. 35% want Emma back immediately, 16.4% don’t really care about this egregious crime, and 32.4% are totally indifferent. Only 16% had slight feelings in either direction. The poll lawyers are telling me that I have to clarify that Emma is still only a fandom name for the previous Warhammer. Get on it Isayama.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DESIGNS WE SAW FOR THE ORIGINAL TITANS?

You guys liked Ymir’s Founding Titan so much that it’s literally off the charts. The original Attack Titan got some pretty mixed reviews, but the general consensus is that you guys prefer an Eren and/or a Jaeger to be driving that thing. The scourge of the hair comes back to beat down the original Warhammer’s ratings as well, but the majority remain indifferent. Speaking of indifference, more of you were indifferent about the OG Colossal Titan than had strong feelings one way or another combined. We’ll see how that result changes when it ends up CGI in Season 4. The general consensus on the original Armored Titan is, “It’s alright, I guess.” The Female Titan was the second on the list to have a majority “Love” rating, though whether this is due to the design or severe Annie Deprivation Syndrome remains to be seen.

DID YMIR MANAGE TO GRAB THE 'MOST TRAGIC BACKSTORY' AWARD? 1,422 Responses

Another tear jerking childhood to add to the list, but does it top it?  The overwhelming majority at 83.5% feel that she did earn that award of tragedy.  6.3% believe the classic sufferboi Reiner still tops the charts.  3.4% went for Levi, 1.8% for the other Ymir, 0.7% for Zeke and 0.4% for Historia.

Everyone has suffered uniquely in this series, how can I choose ?

First, I'm offended Grisha wasn't included here. Second, everyone's suffered too much. So they all win.

Her backstory definitely is the darkest and saddest one. Reiner, Historia, Ymir and the rest had their moments of happiness. They were surrounded by loving people. Ymir was always all alone; born as a slave, had full of sadness life and after death she was creating titans for 2000 years. She just wanted to be free and wanted be loved, yet she had none of that. 

Homegirl is still living her 2000-year-long tragic backstory, she definitely wins

I don't think tragic backstories should be a competition

I think you forgot about Mr Yeager :) those guys are not even close to him

Is this Suffering Olympics or something?

Ymir and Mikasa the most sad tragic backstory

Ymir is always showed as a mindless slave, even at the start of her backstory, it is too hard to empathize with someone that never acted as a human being and lived her whole life without any emotion

Grisha easily has it for me. Ymir's circumstances were worse from birth, and Reiner's dissonance and misery is tragic, but Grisha's perceived misery throughout his cycles of perpetual tragedy shows that he easily suffered the most. 

Give them all a hug.

P I G

WAS THE MURDERER OF YMIR HELOS? 1,408 Responses

Is Helos historical or completely fabricated?  10.7% believe the Marleyan who killed Ymir is in fact Helos, and 66.9% believe the character is based on him.  22.4% don’t believe the idea of Helos and this man are related in any way.

The one showing rebellion in this chapter is the figure serving as a role model for Helos. Unlike Ymir, he was powerless and only had his spear, but he took enough courage to show resistance to Eldia's domination and toss his spear at the king. He paid it with his life, but he fatally wounded Ymir in return, showing even the goddess of titans could bleed. I'm confident the myth of Helos is going to be relevant in the future chapters.

YMIR didn't die with the spear-throw..I think her conscious form was stuck in the paths before her body revived. 

Helos? Really?? Helos???

WHICH OF THESE LIKELY TO BE CENSORED SCENES WAS THE MOST GRUESOME? 1,421 Responses

In a series filled with gore, this chapter was above average with violence.  Ymir’s young daughters cannibalizing their mother was the most gruesome according to almost all of you at 89.2%.  Second place is a bit behind at 3.5%, with centipede spine Eren.

All of the above

Everything but Centipede Eren

The guy getting his tongue cut out that was even censored for the manga.

We've seen lots of people being eaten so not that, and Erentipede is going to be stunning animated so not that. Maybe head on a pike. 

The tongue cut from the beginning really horrified me, it put the chapter in a great atmosphere from the start

No mention about that slave getting his tongue cut out by those ancient Eldian soldiers? That was pretty grizzle. That panel implies that all people enslaved by the Eldians lost their tongues upon getting captured, which meant that Ymir likely lost her tongue as well. That really explains how she had no spoken dialogue in the past, and while the tongue may have regenerated following her first Titan transformation, the length of time she couldn't speak and her status most likely prevented her from speaking.

No need to be censored

WHAT DOES EREN MEAN BY 'PUT AN END TO THIS WORLD'? 1,419 Responses

Eren’s finally stated what he plans to do; but what does it mean!?  45.9% believe the world he plans to destroy is the paths realm, eldning titans that way.  25.4% think he just meant dismantling the status quo of the world.  14.4% say he’s just going to rumble enemies of Eldia, whereas 10.6% say the whole earth.

All options seem plausible

Destroy the PATHS realm and rumble the enemies invading Eldia. 

He plans to rumble all life, destroy the paths realm, AND erase all the memories of the remaining Eldians on Paradis so they completely forget about the history of the titans, thus effectively making the past 2000 years seem like they never even happened. ANDHe plans to destroy the PATHS realm, putting an end to titans

He wants to destroy the world as it is now. He wants to create a world where none of the things that happened to Ymir can ever happen again.

I think he just needs a nap

I understand that fandom wants to see Eren as good guy who will not destroy the world, but I think that everything is simple - Eren is planning to use full rumbling; destroy the whole world, kill millions of innocent people, animals and plants. 

IT ALL COMES RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN

4+5

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO THE SCENE OF EREN CRYING IN CHAPTER 1? 1,399 Responses

2,000 years ago, 2,000 years from now.  The titles of this and chapter one parallel, but what else?  Over half of you, at 52.7% believe Eren was sent Ymir’s feelings when she had her emotional epiphany.  33.5% say Eren was sent memories of what’s about to happen, and 11.1% don’t think anything from this chapter related to Eren crying in chapter one specifically.

1st Chapter name suggest it does, but it just make no sense as Eren at that point didn't had attack titan power, so he could not receive others memories

Eren crying will be due to the consequences of this chapter

Eren learns of Ymir's backstory

I don't think Isayama meant for it to originally mean anything this far in the story, but I think there could be some Paths tomfoolery going on.

Eren saw the memories of his death and literally everything until that moment

Eren was sent a message like a cry for help maybe? Strong, intense feelings of sadness and despair... Because in this chapter Eren says she'd been waiting for someone for 2000 years, so I am guessing 2000 years ago she started sending a message.

ON A SCALE OF "EH" TO "I NEED TO HUG HER, HOW DID YOU FEEL SEEING LITTLE YMIR TEAR UP? 1,417 Responses

Sad Girl Hours have officially been endorsed by Hajime Isayama himself. 73.7% of you guys are in full support, and an additional 15.2% of your mice slipped when answering. 6.9% of you guys kinda just wanna see something else happen, and the first one of you on Reddit to say “Nice.” about that is getting sent to Paradis. Lastly, a grand total of 60 of you defy all explanation.

I want to hug Ymir so bad :( mute babby

WHY WAS EREN THE FIRST TO OPEN YMIR'S EYES? 1,415 Responses

It took 2,000 years for Ymir to open her eyes and her heart, what about Eren got her to that point?  29.9% think he was the only person to ever empathize with her at all, 8.4% think it was simply Eren’s chadness, while 8.3% think it’s only because the previous royals viewed her as a slave.  The majority at 41.1% feel it’s a mix of all available options.

Because he was born into this world

Because he is the protagonist

He embraced her and showed her compassion- something she never felt before

Defiance of old wills. He does, after all "just keep moving forward."

Eren didn't seek to use Ymir as a slave

Eren made her realize that she isn't a slave OR a god. She was enslaved and in later years worshipped, but just like Eren: from the moment she was born, she was free

He knew/experienced everything she went through.

He manipulated her to be able to use her powers

He was the first person to tell her she could make her own choices

He was the only one that put his ideals over his personal gain to the end. Ymir is a slave, therefor Eren frees her from her slavery. /The previous royals viewed her as a slave

TALK NO JUTSU 2 GOOD; Eren is good at manipulating kids when it suits his needs best + He was the only one to ever empathize with her

WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY THOUGHT ON THE CENTIPEDE SPINE THAT SAVED EREN? 1,417 Responses

Eren’s alive!  But what is that… thing?  IT LOOKS AWESOME!  32.9% had that as their first response.  It was nearly a three way split though, and 30.6% first thought of how it must look for those for whom only a moment has passed since his head flew off.  30.2% quickly made the connection that it looks like the parasite thingy Ymir Fritz found.  Only 3.2% thought it looked stupid as hell.

CREEPY but COOL

DO NOT WANT

100/10, better than Kaneki

Ken is hiring a lawyer for copyrights lawsuits against Eren.

I am wondering, what if this is basically Ymir's renouncing of the power she had, finally freeing herself, and thus passing it on to Eren?

I thought that Eren was becoming Níðhöggr, the literal devil that causes Ragnarok (the apocalypse). He looks really cool and frightening at the same time, I love this young man!

It cant be stopped anymore and weird for whom only a second passed

It looks less like a centipede and more like roots to me.

My thought, "The hell is that?!"

Nothing personal Eren, but burn that thing immediately.

Oh thank goodness Eren didn't split into two.

pure "why is the boss music changing to MORE intense?", and that's great

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT EREN SURVIVING THE BEHEADING? 1,410 Responses

44.3% of you are really enthusiastic about Eren surviving his beheading, despite proclaiming that you knew it’d happen anyway. It takes the noggin for a joggin’, but I’m not here to judge. 27.1% of you guys are relatively indifferent about it, and 21.1% of you didn’t think you’d like it, but ultimately bent the knee before Isayama’s storytelling abilities.

Am I surprised? No. Are you surprised? No

Disappointed but not surprised...

Excited, but wondering how he is actually going to die.

GABI GANG BTFO

It was predictable but the revival still felt epic

It was predictable since he's the main character, c'mon anyone else would die like Porco did.

oshiete oshiete

THE WALLS HAVE FINALLY FALLEN! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS MOMENT? 1,410 Responses

A moment that’s been built up so long, what feeling took over when it finally happened?  Most of the fanbase, at 68.3%, were just in awe at how well Isayama pulled it off.  14.2% were filled with hope that Eren actually made it happen.  On the opposite end of the spectrum 13.5% were filled with dread.

All of the above. This story is a rollercoaster.

Dread as the wall titans are facing into Paradis so Eren's plan may backfire! 

Everything in the manga has led to this moment

I kind of thought/hoped the rumbling would be a red herring, but oh well. it'll still be cool

I want them do the colossal dance

I was hoping this chapter won't end with cliffhanger

IT ALL COMES RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN

Looks very dramatic, will be momentous animated, still not surprising since I think a lot of us knew it was gonna happen eventually

meh, I want the story to advance, but the rumbling never grabbed me as an event I was waiting for

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!

I peed

IN SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN CHAPTER, WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE DOUBLE SPREAD? 1,412 Responses

Isayama’s art truly has improved over the years and this chapter showcased that.  The final panel left the biggest impression on 33.7% of you.  25.1% felt a deep impact from Ymir’s emotional closeup, and the walls cracking and crumbling rounds out the top 3 at 14.8%.

All of them

Original 9 titans.

the one where Ymir was building thousands of collosal titans

not so beautifully drawn but still nice

The pages with Ymir alone in the Paths realm while Fritz tells his daughters to continue the reign of Titans and Eldia 

Ymir’s children eating her

IN CHAPTER 86 GRISHA MANAGED TO QUOTE KING FRITZ WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO READ THE "HISTORICAL" DOCUMENTS. HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE? 1,406 Responses

In this chapter King Fritz used the same line Grisha did when learning about Ymir much further down the line.  Half of the fanbase at 50.6% don’t feel that anything’s at play and it was just Grisha making assumptions based on what information he had.  Just about ¼ at 25.7% feel paths are involved but they don’t have to explain anything after that.  14.2% feel there was a chain of memory sending that led to the result we got.

Actually Grisha never deciphered the documentation. I thought it was obvious he was being portrayed as extremist at the point to show the other side of the coin. Both sides just make up facts as they want.

I suppose it being the exact wording as what the King said made people think there was memories shenanigans but Isayama does these kind of parallels all the time, with characters saying something word for word that they don’t have knowledge of.

"Grisha how did you understand this?"  "Pretty pictures."

WILL THERE BE A RUMBLING? 1,413 Responses

The walls have fallen.  What will happen next?  In a near even split, 48.1% win out saying there will be a small scale rumbling, whereas 45% say it will be worldwide.  Only 6.9% feel there won’t be any form of rumbling at all.

I WAS WAITING FOR YEARS FOR THE RUMBLING!!!!!!

AWESOME! But i really don't want a full scale rumbling

Eren is becoming more and more the last antagonist of this story and it's just scary how some people in the fandom understand and support Eren's plan. Hopefully Marley, Zeke and the SC will working together to stop the rumbling and Eren. 

i really dont think eren is gonna go full rumbling or even in a small scale, hes gonna end the word dominated by titans by taking away the titan power from eldians

The rumbling isn't a metaphor people. Eren is planning to kill billions of innocents. Can't wait for the warriors and 104th to team up and put down that mad dog.

Zeke said it himself a few chapters back: Eldia would have no chance of fighting the entire World Army; the Rumbling really seemed to be their only way out, and launching those Colossal Titans now as a pre-emptive strike would be the best way to suppress the Army before they can even attack.

I have a feeling that the rumbling will turn out to be anti- climatic. Lots of people seem to be pinning their hopes on the rumbling being the cure-all to Eldia's problems, but the world of attack on titan is not that kind.

WHAT/WHO IS THE TITAN FORMING AT THE END? 1,412 Responses

The chapter ended with a titan forming, but what will it end up being?  Barely over half, at 51.6% believe it to be Eren with a power up from Ymir Fritz.  20.5% think it’s Eren with Ymir attached in some way, and 14.1% think Eren has accessed a new form on his own.

Eren and Ymir combined, rather than attached. Could be a new Titan form, could be Attack Titan on Titan Steroids. Need to wait until 123 to maybe find out.

Eren in Warhammer, he is not in the nape

Centipide Titan that will die after getting out of energy

Eren with full power from the Founder, Attack and Warhammer

I'm thinking it's some sort of founder-unlocked version of Eren's titan. Maybe Ymir is giving him full control now.

Eren and Ymir fused. Ymen

It's Eren but I don't know how his titan will look like and I don't care about it, cause I'm more worried about Gabi. 

Eren's founding titan form. He had it all along, but he could never use it, until now.

The last two sound so lewd without context

DEATH FLAGS! WHO IN SHIGANSHINA IS GOING TO DIE AS A RESULT OF IMMINENT EVENTS? 1,340 Responses

I was gonna ask for Fs in the chat for whoever led in the results for this question, but then I saw it was Floch, so… Fs in the chat for Magath I guess, because a lot of you seem to think Hulk Hogan is going to suplex him (and Floch) through a table at Royal Rumble DCCCLIV. That’s fancy talk for “die.” Pieck and Zeke are pretty high on the list as well. There’s a lot of information here, so I won’t give you all the specifics in this written part—take a look! Armin has 92 votes, which lands him at 6.9% don’t say it Reddit, and Mikasa has 117 votes, with only 8.7% of you suspecting death in her immediate future. For a brick, she flies pretty good!

I hope no one, but I'm sure everyone

Everyone without plot armor, in other words no main or supporting characters.

I think the named characters are still safe. For Now. But soon, not so safe.

Less people than realistically possible

literally no one because Isayama is a hack

For some reason I feel like Yelena will die soon

Pieck, Niccolo, I don't want it to happen but I feel like Nikolo's gonna go down protecting the Braus family! :(

None of the above

HOW WAS YMIR STRANDED IN THE PATHS REALM AFTER DEATH, BUT NO OTHER ELDIANS SEEM TO BE? 727 Responses

Because she sort of... disassociated there

I think her younger self was "recorded" and so a version of ymir was there ever since she fell down the tree. The tree itself being the physical portal to it or sth like that. No one else fell down that hole...

in order to create the other 8 titans, she gave up her soul and became stranded there. 

Because she started it all, she's the only one who touched the whatever it was that gave the titan powers.

I think it's obvious, she was the original slave, the only one that King Fritz's evil targeted specifically. Damning her to an eternity in the hellish isolation only making titans to oppress mankind, because that was his goal.

After she came in contact with what I believe to be the silver branch from Celtic Mythology, her conscious was unknowingly split into two; one in the paths and the other in the physical word. Once Ymir finally died in the physical world, her conscious fuse with the paths conscious and became aware of it.

I think the paths realm takes place inside the mind or dimension of that worm/nidhogg/ancient god parasite and she was brought back to it after she allowed herself to die. The sand Ymir uses to build titans may be her tapping into the reservoir of liquid underneath that giant tree or something.

she's tied to it as a slave and never had the strength on her own to break free

SHE created the PATHS dimension. She is the first titan and has almost unlimited power

A combination of being the bearer of the Centispine and the long years of abuse she went through making her unable to disobey yet another order. Hers is pretty much the most heartbreaking case of learned helplessness. What keeps her obeying the commands of the royals is the fact that she doesn't even realise there is another possibility. Because nobody ever cared enough about her to show her there is one. 

Another version of herself was created, when she came in contact with the thing, so that she could create her titan etc..

As the very first Titan, she is the conduit through which PATHS flows. The parasite had now host in the beginning so PATHS couldn't be conveyed until Ymir showed up.

Because with her started everything, i believe her “burden” was to be attached forever

Maybe it's because she's the only one that's physically attached to that weird, interdimensional organism. Maybe it's because her body was dismembered and consumed by 3 different people. Other titan shifters don't get stranded there because their spirits can in some way inhabit the one person who inherits their power. Maybe there is significance to Eren having gotten 3 titans, perhaps one from each lineage: Maria, Rose, and Sina, which now somehow allows Ymir's spirit to leave Paths. He certainly did work hard to get the War Hammer, specifically.

i think paths always existed and have always been there, but there wasnt someone to be in there, because no one discovered that spine under the giant tree. so, i think that ymir's soul somehow connected with the paths at the moment she gained the titan power, and when she died, her soul converted into the "ruler" of the paths

It was always her, she's the special one. There is nothing special about eldians, other than them being biologically related to Ymir. Ymir was always the one with the power, the only one. She was only limited by her slave mentality, if she wanted to, she could've ruled the world forever and she would've been the only one with titan powers. It seems she has given her powers and special function to Eren. That means that Eren alone will be the special one and he will rule the world forever with only him having titan powers. 

She held all 9 titan powers, and as the only person in history to do so, she has the ability to view all of the other branches on the tree. Similar to how a shifter might be able to view the memories of a past shifter.... Ymir can view ALL of them, for all time. 

The devil needed a host for his dimension

That's her curse. Possibly bound by her loyalty to the King Fuck-Face-Fritz

you know PATHS, i ain't gonna explain that

THERE ARE MANY THEORIES ABOUT THE CENTISPINE'S QUALITIES—WHAT ARE YOURS? 579 Responses

A number of responses here ranging from the hilarious to the creepy; The centispine. A great many of you (We can’t tell if you’re serious or not…) are talking about Aliens, whilst others postulate that the thing results in parasitic possession, ALA Sekiro. 

A parasite thingy? Source of organic matter?

A power-bestowing parasite, hence why it needs to be eaten

Alien would be the easiest. But maybe the tree is actually Yggdrasil and its roots pass through other worlds. And the parasite is from another world.

alien/prehistoric being capable of phasing matter through dimensions

Aliens

ALIENS

Bruh its an organic life form/parasite, when bonded to a host ot provides them the titan ability

Don't think it's a biological, probably a mythical being inspired by Norse mythology

Eren will become the human centispine

For me  the most plausible is the fact that it resembles a living creature from our world who is supposed to create the whole world 300 millions ago or so

I believe its power weakens the more it divides. The power of each of the 9 current titans is nowhere near that of how powerful Ymir was after she first got the power.

I don't think we'll get any concrete explanation, but it's some creature with fifth-dimensional qualities that unwillingly merged with Ymir. I think the 9 main spines on the bottom on each side doesn't necessarily represent the amount of Titans but how divisible Ymir's power is before it becomes warped (mindless Titans). I also think of some level the idea of the parasite being connected to the Titan power is an inherent correlation that only exists because of Ymir. The idea of power = giant big monster seems like a very childlike concoction, and an antiquated one too. Since we know willpower and manifesting a goal in mind are part of the Power of the Titans I don't think it's too far-fetched that those specific powers came from Ymir herself, and the parasite merely made them possible on her physical plane of existence. This would seem to be at odds with its connection to being giant existing before Ymir made contact with it, due to the giant tree and my inferred connection with it and the giant trees on Paradis, but remember this thing exists outside time itself, it's a frankly unperceivable organism.

I don’t fucking know 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,383 Responses

Next chapter starts off the the new volume, but what do you want to see in it?  28.1% want to see the full rumbling begin, 23.4% want to see how Eren’s titan transformation turns out, and 15.4% just want to see some action in Shiganshina.  For those who want the scene to change, 11.9% want to catch up with Levi and Hange, 8.2% want Annie, 4.4% want Historia, and 4.3% want even more historical info dumps.

ALL OF IT BRING IT ON ISAYAMA

Armin transforming into the colossal titan 

Death and suffering

Eren's master plan and more history hopefully

Full rumbling AND Levi and Hange.

i really look forward to see annie but what i really want to see is what is going to happen to the others (pieck, gabi, falco, reiner, etc etc)

Levi/Hange AND Annie. I feel like if Annie is going to ever return to the story, it'll be at a climax of some sort.

The hizuru lady piloting the boat-plane over Shiganshina

Lore, HISTORIA PLEASE I LOVE HER AND WANT TO SEE HER, Levi/Hange, Eren, and the immediate consequences of the Walls crashing down.

What the heck the plan actually is. For all we know, they could be uncovering the wall titans just to send the material that makes up their bodies back to Paths land. An Ymir/Eren hybrid titan could just have them hold still and spend the next years devouring them. We literally know nothing.

Somebody stopping Eren and bringing a sense of honor and morality(preferably Reiner, Armin or Gabi)

The ending Audio might be next chapter

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,309 Responses

Reddit continues to dominate the discussion field, comprising 52.4% of this vote alone. Tumblr, Facebook, and Youtube follow far behind, and 4 of you said Snapchat. That’s 0.3% of respondents, which is technically a low enough percentage to make sense, so maybe I should believe you guys, but I don’t.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

My thoughts on Eldia after reading this chapter: "Oh, so Marley really wasn't fabricating history with how ancient barbaric ancient Eldia was, especially with how ancient Eldia treated them. Can't blame Marley for putting that on the history books and using that as part of their propaganda. Considering that and what Marley is doing right now, it just adds to the moral grayness of the story.

Eyes have always told a story in SNK, whether it was the intention of a character (Zeke, Grisha, etc) or their true feelings (Levi). Eyes, and the lack thereof, in Ymir's backstory, told us that THAT was finally the real history. Until now we've always had someone else's warped perspective of history, but now we know how it actually was.

 Eren's not JUST a murderer and teenage terrorist, look, he also hugs kids! 

Ymir's backstory was a bit disappointing, I expected it to be more grey; Ymir is basically a poor girl who never did anything wrong and King Fritz is the big bad who seems to be the greatest jerk of the story; I don't think this fits with the ""the world is grey"" theme of the story at all, even Gross had at least something interesting to say

Amazing turn of events. Ymir deserves to be released from her enslavement. If the devil has to come out now that his plan is being foiled by Eren, I think Zeke can be a good host for him to incarnate as, justifying Levi killing Zeke as the final main villain of the story.

Definitely one of the best chapters of the overall series.

Annie...oh Annie... God knows how isayama is going to put her back into the plot now!

As much as I want to see Levi and Hange again, I really want to know more about Eren's plans. We still don't have a clear answer, but the part where Eren hugs Ymir makes this my favorite chapter.

Barely feels like the same series, but in a good way.

Brilliant payoff after having the action suddenly halted for multiple chapters. Shit  is finally going down. 

Eren and Ymir deserve to succeed and completely destroy the world. It’s already been corrupted too much for it to be fixed any other way at this point. This world was crafted by filthy, bloody hands and it’s about damn time for Eren & Ymir to break it down so it can be crafted by cleaner hands.

Eren and Ymir have done nothing wrong ever at all fite me

Eren best dad. I'd rumble a million worlds for him to hub me like that. Yelling right into my ear is just a bonus.

Possibly the greatest chapter. The last 3 chapters together could be the greatest side story in Attack on Titan. Isayama is just...I am at a loss for words. He's just the greatest. He just needs to finish the story on a high note and that's it. Even if he doesn't, this is one of the greatest manga and anime of all time.

People who have unquestioning trust in Eren aren't invited to my birthday party

Honestly, I loved it. It was so well executed and so goddamn interesting. I love how Isayama gives us *almost* all the information we need to piece the whole thing together and leaves just enough for us to have our own speculations. I just hope that they're all resolved at the end though considering there's probably only 4 chapters left at least. 

I cannot wait to see the last 5 pages of this chapter animated, easily one of my favorite set of pages from the whole series

I couldn’t have ever thought this was going to be the content of this chapter but I’m so glad it came out the way it did

I cried so much, I love the story

I honestly didn't care much for Ymir's backstory. But hopefully the Rumbling will make things more interesting

I think this chapter might have benefited from being two chapters.  There was so much information to absorb in a very short amount of time, I feel like a lot of questions weren't answered that probably never will be now like- why are there 9 human controlled titans?  How did the mindless titans factor in?  Why did Ymir die from the spear when Eren can have his head shot off?  Why did the other slaves turn on Ymir in the first place?  Where did she come from originally?  Was she captured? Born a slave?  There was I think a missed opportunity to develop her character a little more.  I get the idea of even the narrator not really caring about what she's experiencing but getting a little more insight into her perspective would have been really interesting.  

I read earlier that the closest creature of the devil are human beings .. but humans are more evil .. King Fritz represents the devil .. Thank you Isayama .. In our reality many demons already exist and I have one in my house .. In the corridor

I see a lot of people shitting on Zeke (even comparing him to that asshole king) for ordering Ymir around, but like.... he just heard Eren saying he will end the world (plus remember what Grisha said about Eren memories/intentions), he must be really panicking, so of course he would  desperatly shout orders to Ymir and insisting he's of royal blood, that's basically at the moment the only way he could try to stop Eren. And yes, that's not nice to Ymir, but still that doesn't put him on the same level as King Fritz at all.

I thought Gross was the epitome of evil. Then came Fritz. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. Don't tell me Ymir doesn't deserve a little payback after 2000 years as a slave.

So Zeke endorses genocide, but not Total World Destruction? Whatevs, man.

Sucks to be Gabi after killing Eren only for this to happen a second later.

I was kinda shocked when Eren, given the shitty way he treated Mikasa in ch 112, started comforting Ymir and telling her she's not a slave. I never realized Mikasa meant that little to him. What a fucking asshole.

I'm glad the question "is Eren going to activate the rumbling as a part of his plan?" was finally answered. I also finally made up my mind about Zeke and I now know I don't like him due to how he acted towards Ymir. I love that we finally learned about Ymir, and that both Marley's and Eldian Restorationists' versions of history were partially correct. I love that the devil was actually King Shitz and Ymir wasn't a goddess but a slave to the devil, but she still helped the Eldians develop and thrive. Also, I love how most of my theories were proven to be true this chapter. Overall I really liked it.

IT CanNoT bE sTopPeD aNymOre

What is interesting to me is that Ymir's legend seems to be the opposite of what women in history usually get: Often great women are forgotten or their agency is reduced only to that of a mother, lover, wife or daughter of some man. Whereas Ymir is remembered even after 2000 years as the Founder and forebear of Eldia, but in reality she didn't do any of those things on her free will. She was just one of the many who were enslaved and used by Eldia, yet she is celebrated by Eldian rebels as a symbol of its former greatness. Heck, even her last name, Fritz, isn't her own, but her abuser's. Chilling and fascinating.

it was fucking amazing. holy hell, i’m in TEARS after reading this latest chapter. it was so beautifully executed and drawn, and the walls crumbling deadass made me cRY OKAY-

It was incredibly tragic but the final portion somehow combined sweetness and epicness 

It's been over a week and I'm still reeling. This series gets better every month and I really don't want it to end

Ymir Fritz being presented as she is defied a couple of perceptions we've got from her: the books either implied she made a deal with the devil, or she was a benevolent goddess, when she was neither. Born as a girl from a ravaged tribe, she didn't have any voice, or agency, yet deep down she believed showing kindness was her way to make people happier after the damages of war. She accepted being fingerpointed if the other slaves could keep their eyes, she served the Eldian tribe with her newfound power, fought their wars, bore the king's children and took the final hit for him. Her spirit is then condamned to serve her line for eternity. Truly the most pitiable character of SnK so far.

 I found Ymir's story too strange to be attached to her and I was a little disappointed to see that there was basically nothing that had come from her own will. It would have been more interesting in terms of conflict to see if there had been reasons why she had done this, if there was something that prevented her from acting against the Eldians for any reason. But in fact she just let herself be guided by the flow again and again, and I do not feel it's a valid reason to let herself go for more than two thousand years.

Never thought I'd hate a character more than Floch and Sergeant Major Gross, but here we are…

The whole Ymir's backstory moved me a lot because I didn't expect it to be so sad and full of despair. Ymir is definitely the most tragic character in the whole story and one of the most tragic characters in the world of manga/anime. I hope she will finally get some love and will be surrounded by honest and loyal friends. Every tragic character in SnK deserves a hug but I think that she needs it the most. 

 this chapter's artwork really stood out to me. The way literally no eyes were present in the flashback, even the king's, and the expression of fury and agony on OG Ymir's face when Eren tells her she has a choice. Isayama just keeps getting better and better with his art, and some of his style choices really made me see the individual panels differently.

Predictable and necessary. About this poll and the fandom in general: is amazing how the mayority (or the loudest part) of this sub tends to take things in the most literal way possible while praising Isayama as a genius or something like that, or labeling as "subtle" things that scream "HELLO I'M HERE MY NAME IS BRIAN" at your face, or misread characters in the most extreme way

Ragnarok has started and I don't know if I should be excited or afraid

Read this together with Ch.121. Eren is such a well-developed complex character. You may not like him, but credit must be given to his amazing character building trip. GJ Isayama

IT'S HAPPENING! THIS MANGA MAY END IN LESS THAN A YEAR FROM NOW, AND WITH AN EPIC ENDING IF THE ENDGAME SO FAR IS ANY INDICATION. I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS, HELP

nothing to add, just amazing job from isayama

[comicteaparty]

July 27th-August 2nd, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party’s Farewell Party that occurred from July 27th, 2020 to August 2nd, 2020.

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

Comic Tea Party Farewell Party

With great sadness, but also the desire to end things with a bang, welcome to Comic Tea Party’s Farewell Party! This week we’re going to have a casual hang-out with everyone in the server, ask some general questions about comics, and just try to have a good time that lets us all have one last hurrah before the server closes. So if that sounds good to you, we hope you join us.

Question Set 1 of 5 1. What has been your favorite comic to be featured by Comic Tea Party? (You can check the archives for a full list: https://comicteaparty.com/thursArchives & https://comicteaparty.com/weeklongarchives)? 2. What’s a new comic you found thanks to Comic Tea Party (or an old comic you learned to love again)?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

1. Mine, obv. Jkjk, my actual favorite comics whose book clubs I paticipated in were Ingress, Phantomarine, and Hovergirls. And man I've found so many good comics through CTP. Phantomarine, Hovergirls. Millennium, Only in Your Dreams, Joe is Dead, Valerie... I am sure I'm forgetting some too

Wait I think I may have actually not participated in the Phantomarine one

boogeymadam

1) phantomarine and devil's tongue!! joined for phantomarine's even 2) court of roses , sunny x rain

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

1) My favorite CTP feature hands down is Heart of Keol, but I unfortunately was not here for that. I have been a fan of that comic for many years. I also really enjoyed Only In Your Dreams. 2) I found a lot of fantastic comics here! KEYSPACE: A Winged Tale, Phantomarine (although I had heard of it previously), and SunnyxRain, to name a few. I also have a whole list of comics I still need to read! (Damn you my limited time! *waves fist). Princess Pop, Wayfinders, Puppeteer, Ghost Junk Sickness, Teasday, (probably some more I'm forgetting right now ). It's truly been a pleasure speaking with you all in this server! It's a crazy feeling finding a bunch of allies in this giant overwhelming comic-making world. Thanks to everyone who participated in my bookclub or has given me a word of encouragement or helped me with my work. Seriously, before I joined CTP, I felt like I was wading through an endless, abyssal sea all by myself.

carcarchu

1. My fave comic that was featured in the bookclub was Meet and Greet. I just found it incredibly darling, unique and memorable. The art was so lovely and I just became utterly enamoured by the whimsical atmosphere it produced. 2. i started reading yu + me dream bc it was mentioned in the server a few times and i actually ended up liking it a lot more than i thought i would. the art style obviously dates it but the artistry and writing of the comic really hold up and the artist clearly knew what she was doing. also it made me nostalgic for the early days of webcomics

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

1. I wasn't here for it, but O'Sarilho! I loved going back to read the answers, the comic has a special place in my heart! 2. There's so MANY comics and creators i found here who's works i truly admire. It'd start to be a long as heck list, so im going to be more general about it, but the CTP was definitely a good spot for me to pick up comics and have that chance to interact with creators and find out their process/inspo, and i cherish that so much!

Miranda (Into the Swell)

1. I haven't been in the server that long, but I'd probably say Phantomarine since I was actually here for that book club. 2. Ghost Junk SIckness, Phantomarine, Ingress Adventuring Co, Teasday, Whispers of the PAst, Joe is Dead, Magefront. So so many. And they're all amazing!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

1. My fave comic that was featured in the bookclub was Meet and Greet. I just found it incredibly darling, unique and memorable. The art was so lovely and I just became utterly enamoured by the whimsical atmosphere it produced. 2. i started reading yu + me dream bc it was mentioned in the server a few times and i actually ended up liking it a lot more than i thought i would. the art style obviously dates it but the artistry and writing of the comic really hold up and the artist clearly knew what she was doing. also it made me nostalgic for the early days of webcomics

@carcarchu I think you may have seen me mention yu+me? Gosh, it's good, isn't it?? The art style may be dated in the beginning but the rest of the comic is timeless. The amount of creativity in all the art styles she used, wow. She definetly knew what she was doing. Also, brave to commit to such a plot twist. Never seen a story with this premise before!(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

1. Oh boy, there's a lot I think heart of Keol is my main contender, since I was there for the book club.

2. the folks I interacted with here, I ended up reading their comics! sunny x rain, WotP, Valerie, Reading Days, and a lot more! I dunno if I would be able to find more comics without the help of this server but I'm very thankful to be a part of it and getting to know a bulk of you here

Deo101 [Millennium]

1: I think my favorite one featured was Phantomarine ^^ being here for the book club definitely helped that, but it's also just really incredible <3 2: I've definitely found a ton of new comics here... mostly from meeting all the lovely creators, and wanting to see what they're talking about when they're gushing about the comics they love so much!

carcarchu

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) yes good writing is timeless! and i haven't actually gotten to the plot twist yet but i know of it!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

you haven't gotten to the plot twist yet?!

dude the art becomes so good

carcarchu

im still only on page 213

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

jeez no wonder you think the art style dates it!!

the author was intentionally drawing in a completely different style than her normal one the whole time

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1e/1d/78/1e1d78ae54fa6be3d1076fbdcdcab84f.jpg https://64.media.tumblr.com/a87431cfb4e704d31c07eba9264ce979/tumblr_mve6g1D9y21qbtxv8o1_500.jpg

this is art she did before yu+me

carcarchu

oooh i totally thought that was her art style later!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i can't even imagine what it must've been like for her to keep the twist secret for so long

and all the crazyness she was going to do with her art later

this woman has truly impressive self control

eliushi [Keyspace]

A lot of my favs have been said!! I also really enjoyed Gender Slices (binged it all in two days), Desert Spell and Valerie! I love the diversity of the webcomics featured and how relatable they all are thank you again so much for running the book club!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Ohh I forgot about gender slices! Also forgot about sunnyxrain. And I did read whispers of the past and patent the sun , but i found out about both outside of ctp(edited)

did not finish (yet), but I've also read parts of teasday, hookteeth, and ghost junk sickness

OH and super galaxy knights

wow there are so many comics haha

Comic Tea Party

Question Set 2 of 5 1. What is your favorite thing about webcomics in general? 2. How did you get involved with webcomics?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Wow I literally do not remember how I got involved with webcomics

boogeymadam

1. Stories that feel more personal and heartfelt because the creator is usually just 1 or 2 people creating it mainly because they love it. Also getting to see protagonsits and stories, and even creators i relate to a lot more than those in more main media. 2. through manga as a young teen, searching up more stories like the ones i was interested in and couldnt get enough of and finding smackjeeves and hiveworks.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

1. What is your favorite thing about webcomics in general? Creativity!! With the freedom of publishing for free, writers and artists can be so imaginative, unique, and weird! I love reading stuff that the author made with full knowledge it will only ever appeal to a small number of people

but those small number of people will adore it

carcarchu

1. I love the indie charm of webcomics. when i interact with media that passes through more hands before the audience gets to it i sometimes feel that it gets polished to the point where it loses some of its charm. though webcomics might have more flaws than works that go through stringent editing, i feel that the flaws can make it more appealing. there can be problems with the writing or the art but i find with webcomics those problems can often be overcome just by the degree of raw passion and heart on display in those works. 2. same as eight it's been so long that i don't really remember but i have to assume that i somehow ended up on smackjeeves through deviantart? a lot of the artists i liked growing up also drew comics which they either posted on dA or on smackjeeves and through there i discovered more

eliushi [Keyspace]

Totally agree about how individual and different indie webcomics read vs traditional/ mainstream. I love how each webcomic is a reflection of the creator and how many different styles and creative ways one can tell a story! I got into webcomics from reading s bunch of manga and comics back in high school and stumbled upon smackjeeves and Phoenix requiem and that was my gateway into indie works

varethane

I got involved with webcomics because some friends of my friends in high school were making one, and I thought it seemed like super cool fun and wanted to do one too. Once i started reading more webcomics, it became hard to stop; the passion and earnestness is unmatched, and the stories people can tell when not held to the guidelines of what's considered 'marketable' by some executive somewhere are so unique and engaging

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

1) My favorite thing about webcomics is their diversity. I know not every webcomic is a creator's magnum opus, or the work by which they define themselves wholeheartedly, but you see so SO much variety. No two styles are exactly the same (unless someone's trying to incite drama, I guess ) and with that fact alone, every webcomic is so, so different. 2) I got involved with making webcomics purely out of boredom at work I just wanted a project that I could call my own, so I started drawing. But I read a few back in the day, mostly by coming across them on deviantART. Most weren't super polished, but there were a few that really stood out. It was nice to see the beginnings of what would eventually explode.

Miranda (Into the Swell)

1. The variety. There’s something for everyone and there’s different styles and its fantastic. And the people that are behind them. All the creators I’ve encountered have been super chill and kind and just inspiring. 2. I’m not sure? I think I just started reading on webtoons and it was a downhill (uphill? Cuz it’s good?) spiral from there

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

1. My favorite aspect of webcomics is that the genres and art styles are so diverse. And even beyond that, the types of characters represented are so unique! And this kind of bleeds into why I got into webcomics to begin with. I was so bored of superhero comics about white men fighting supernatural entities. Those stories have their place, and I also enjoy them on occasion, but after seeing them a million times, the content gets old. I love exploring webcomics by underrepresented people. POC, LGBT+ people, women, and genres that aren't typically shown in mainstream print comics. And that's what I love so much about webcomics: the diversity, the variety, the opportunity for people to tell their stories. 2. In regards to how I started reading webcomics, I originally read a lot of manga online that didn't have official English translations at the time, and then I found out about Korean webtoons, which sparked my interest in web-based content in general. I also found a few comics because of deviantART. Mostly because I followed a lot of skilled artists, and they would post about their webcomics. I found one of my favorite comics that way, Memorabilia, and I actually remember reading Where Tangents Meet before it got picked up as a Webtoon Original, and before the artist created Siren's Lament. I started drawing webcomics in 2014 because, for the first time since I had started writing, I couldn't imagine my story through solely words. I knew I needed to tell a visual story, and now I had an outlet: webcomics.

Comic Tea Party

Question Set 3 of 5 1. Why do you think more people should read webcomics? 2. What do you like the most about the webcomic community?

eliushi [Keyspace]

I think more people should read webcomics to see how different stories can be told and the different perspectives they share outside of mainstream media. There is also the privilege to be able to interact with the creators directly and be a part of the creative/ supportive process. I love how supportive everyone is! It’s amazing to see creators create fan art/fiction for one another, commiserate the difficulties in making things from our busy lives and celebrating every step of success. I also love the readers whose comments brighten my day and whose engagement motivates me to make the story inside my head Real.

Comic Tea Party

Question Set 4 of 5 1. How do you think webcomics will have changed 10 years from now? What about 20? 2. In the long-term, how will have webcomics changed the world?

RebelVampire

Set 1 1) As the host of CTP, I think I am obligated to say they were all my favorite. So I'm just gonna go with that. 2) As for new comics, honestly, most of them. Not to say many of them I hadn't heard of before, but hearing about them and finding time to read them are two different things. CTP really allowed me to make that time. Set 2 1) My favorite thing about webcomics is mostly just that anybody can do them. You don't need to have fantastic web skills. Don't need to hunt down a publisher and get rejected 1000 times. You just sit down, do it, and post it. Not to say the doing it part is easy, but there aren't the other sorts of barriers that wouldve stopped people when I was a kid. And I think this is great because it lets more and more ppl express their creativity and have avenues to potentially get their work seen. 2) Basically 90% of my life has been composed of knowing artists and having artists as friends. And most artists I know have had interest in webcomics at one point or another (even if they never pursued it or moved on from webcomics). So for me it was just a thing that was always there based on my particular social circles.

RebelVampire

Set 3 1) I think more people should read webcomics because of two reasons. One, the more people read indie stuff, the more it helps indie artists achieve whatever it is they're trying to achieve. With the internet, I think we need to move past the days of yore where artists were basically unknown until they were dead. Cause that's sad. So reading webcomics is a way to fight that and respect the inherent humanity, effort, and work that goes into creativity. Two, there's just more availability of stories. Whether you want to read some mainstream isekai like story or just want some super niche thing that is 100% tailored to your specific tastes, webcomics probably has it. And by reading webcomics, you can complain less about how the thing you want doesn't exist and spend more time being happy. 2) What I like most about the community is just being able to see lots of different people express themselves entirely differently from each other. That and the hard work everyone puts into their work. Set 4 1) 10 years from now I think someone will have come up with a way to auto format comics to better suit the medium they're on. So page format on desktop and print and vertical scroll on mobile. Thus reading experiences will be smoother. Not to say it won't be janky, but someone somewhere out there must be toying with something like this. Further, I think we will see a rise in some automations that make certain processes easier. Also, I think we'll see a rise in comics made with 3D instead of 2D, if only for the factor of accessibility. 20 years from now, that's hard to say. However, given the rapid pace of technology, one thing I think we might see is better computer vision and translation software so sites can auto generate multiple language versions of any comic.

2) In the long-term for changing the world, I will repeat what I said earlier to a degree. They'll create a world where people don't have wait to die to be noticed, and in so doing, they'll shape people's opinions since, by and large, that is one of the purposes of stories and the experience of stories.

Miranda (Into the Swell)

Set 4: 1. I think it will span out into a much more broad selection of art. I feel like a lot of the "most popoular" webcomics all have a similar anime art style and I feel like that will change more as time goes on. 2. I think they'll continue to bring people of different walks together and just give common ground. No one will feel alone because there will be something for everyone and a community behind all of it. I think they're going to be more accessible and less gated to devices/displays that your viewing them on. And I think there will be a lot more artists in the world because of them(edited)

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Your sets 3 and 4, Rebel just -oof- right in my heart I'm really excited about the possibilities of more and better automatic translation just on the internet in general, but definitely for webcomics that would be amazing if an AI could just translate mine and everyone else's into all the languages.

mathtans

Whelp, I'm behind again.

SET 1. With the caveat that I'm behind in all my reading. It's very sad. I'm still working on 2019 here.

1. My favourite might have to go to "The Cat, The Vine and The Victory". Just a really interesting concept, enjoyed the writing, there's a yuri couple (of sorts), a person who can't speak, it somehow updated really frequently... yeah.

https://tapas.io/series/The-Cat-The-Vine-and-The-Victory

mathtans

2. Here there's too many to mention. But I'll mention a bunch anyway and apologies to those I miss: CHAMPS, Centralia 2050, 7 inch Kara, Neon Rabbit, My Dad is a Magical Girl, Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R, Nine Twilights... and the list goes on.

SET 2.

1. Favourite thing? This will sound weird, but I guess how they're always there. Like, I can't keep up even week to week, but suddenly there's some time to binge and you can see story and art evolve as you look at the last few months all at once. Actual comics hire different writers or artists a lot of the time, and if you miss an issue it can be a pain finding it. Though I also like the point that's been made about how there's access on the creation side too. And how communities can crop up based on them.

2. How did I get involved with webcomics. Sigh. Strap in. I'm one of those weird types who came in via writing, not art. In 2011 (oh no, I'm old) I had the idea of personifying mathematical equations, where the hairstyles would relate to the graphs. But not being an artist, I basically did short writing excerpts with character headshots. (Does anyone remember Elf Only Inn? Oh no, I'm still old.)

I didn't even know what to call it, I referred to it as a "webcomic thing". I've since learned that it was basically a serial, supplemented with some author art. The art got increasingly more complex to where I would design a one panel setting to complement the writing. Then, after 3 years of doing this, I stopped, because after all the social media (I joined mainly to promote the thing) and videos and the rest I had, like, 5 readers. But I kept kind of attached to webcomic groups and chats, even though I wasn't doing a webcomic.

(Like, wasn't doing and never had been doing.)

A year later, in 2015, I relaunched the whole project as an ACTUAL 4-panel webcomic with new character designs. I think it's around then that StArt Faire and CTP were brought to my attention by Angelic Emypress. Maybe it was the following year.

That's when I really hooked more into the community and made it a point to have CTP in my calendar. I then stopped doing my own webcomic in 2018 because, despite mirroring on Tapas and trying to do guest posts and continue to promote... I still only had, like, 6 readers. Also my daughter was born. So I didn't have as much free time to devote to something no one else was really into. I did manage to keep up with CTP until it went asynchronous, but I've been kind of a ghost since. So hello to people who wonder why I'm a Hibiscus Teacup when I'm almost never around these days.

TL;DR: I got involved in webcomics because I wanted to be doing one but didn't know how (and still don't have the art skills for it), but like to try to encourage other people. Because I know what it's like when less than a dozen people are aware your comic exists.

SET 3.

1. More should read because honestly seeing this stuff digitally is how this is all going these days... actual paper comics are becoming terribly overpriced. And this way you can pay what you're able (even if that's zero) to people who are just as amazing and creative. I'll also echo Rebel in that there's lots of variety out there.

2. The webcomic community... honestly, it's a lot like the serial community in terms of boosting each other up and offering moral support, which is great and necessary. Not just in the writing but in general. And without it, I would never have had any artwork of my characters that I didn't specifically commission. Whether it was a trade initiative or in one weird case a random post to me, these were people taking the time to let me see my vision in a new way. I always posted and credited that stuff. It meant a lot.

I'll do the last couple sets this weekend, hopefully. Nice to see everyone else's thoughts up there. ^^

carcarchu

1. Favourite thing? This will sound weird, but I guess how they're always there. Like, I can't keep up even week to week, but suddenly there's some time to binge and you can see story and art evolve as you look at the last few months all at once. Actual comics hire different writers or artists a lot of the time, and if you miss an issue it can be a pain finding it. Though I also like the point that's been made about how there's access on the creation side too. And how communities can crop up based on them.

@mathtans i don't think i can agree with this point. sadly there have been plenty of webcomics i loved but when the sites imploded (smackjeeves) or they stopped paying for their website host they were lost to time forever. also a lot of artists just straight up purge their work from the internet forever from embarrassment

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

^ Me with the first several versions of my comic

mathtans

Carcarchu: That's a good point I hadn't considered. Guess I've been fortunate in that most of the ones I follow just go on indefinite hiatus at worst.

Hope the site with the CTP archives doesn't get bought out and shut down or something.

Comic Tea Party

Question Set 5 of 5 1. How can people reach you after this? 2. Final parting words?

carcarchu

1. You can usually catch me on twitter! https://twitter.com/kurumadraws 2. This is not farewell, just good-bye for now hope to see most of you again soon!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

1. I’m always on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/Phantomarine_ 2. Thank you so much for giving us this server. This has been such a fun place to make new friends and discuss comics. The book club for Phantomarine was one of my favorite things ever - I had an absolute blast. Thank you again for your hard work, and see you all around!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

1. I'm at twitter and other discord servers you can see me lurking in https://twitter.com/tuyetnhip

2. Thanks for everything for the server! I hope to see the rest of you somewhere near or far on internet land

mariah (rainy day dreams)

1. You can find me on Twitter and various other discords (including my own that just opened up last week!) https://twitter.com/RainyDayMariah https://discord.gg/6S6Zsw 2. I'm very sad to be saying goodbye for now, even though I know I'll still see most of you in various corners of the internet going forward. This discord had a really special energy that I'm going to miss a lot. Just saying thank you doesn't feel like enough, but truly, thank you so much for the time we've spent together. See you in cyberspace

Miranda (Into the Swell)

1. I'm on Twitter mostly https://twitter.com/MirandaDrawss 2. Thanks for providing this awesome server! I've gotten to know so many people and had my eyes opened so much more to the world of webcomics. Thanks for inspiring me! So long, farewell, until we meet again

Nutty (Court of Roses)

1. I too am on twitter! https://twitter.com/nintendonut1 The comic also has its own discord server! https://discord.gg/Rmwe9Hv 2. Thank you so much for bringing this kind community together. Here's to us creators, wherever he head to next!

Feather J. Fern

You can find me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/FeatheryFern Thank you so much for making CTP and thank you everyone for making up the community! I hope to see you all in other communities and servers and I made so many friends here!

BadSprite

1. Hi you can find me on twitter!! https://twitter.com/BadSprite 2. I know we'll probably see each other again. But I want to thank you all for doing what you love, it's really inspiring to see so many people from so many background creating their own unique stories. So much so it got me to start making mine! Thank you for being amazing people and I hope to see you guys again soon!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

1. I am on twitter and Instagram https://twitter.com/heidiholmeaa Instagram @heidiholmeaa 2. Thank you so much for all the hard work put into this server! I know I have not been the most active on here, but thanks for good comics to read, a good network and fun convos. I hope many of us will keep seeing each other on other servers and let us all prosper and succeed!

varethane

I, too, am primarily on twitter! https://twitter.com/varethane And on instagram as varethane1, though I don't post there very often. Thank you for running a super cool server!! I was always impressed at the depth and thoroughness of the Comic of the Week questions

eliushi [Keyspace]

It’s been a great time and I look forward to new adventures with all of you! I live in the following internet spaces: https://instagram.com/eliushi.draws?igshid=1wz4f1o191fe1 https://twitter.com/eliushi https://eliushi.weebly.com/about.html

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Set 3 1. Why do you think more people should read webcomics? I basically already said this, but webcomics offer a diverse reading experience. 2. What do you like the most about the webcomic community? Readers can actually interact with creators! It's so cool to see the barrier between readers and creators dissipate most of the time. Set 4 1. How do you think webcomics will have changed 10 years from now? What about 20? The biggest change I think we'll be seeing within the decade is that more and more comics will be put behind a paywall like Lezhin or Tapas. In 20 years? I think the internet will be pretty different then. Perhaps there will be more censorship? 2. In the long-term, how will have webcomics changed the world? I think the most immediate thing is that webcomics open the world up to discussing more topics. As webcomics enter the mainstream, discussing these things in a public setting will become more normalized.

As for where you can find me, you can find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CronajArt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cronaj_art/ ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/cronaj My webcomic server: https://discord.gg/ueWBfdp Or in a lot of other servers!

Deo101 [Millennium]

where can you find me? on twitter, mostly ^^ I think most of us are already mutuals there, but just in case it'd be nice to touch base https://twitter.com/deo_101 and I'm also on my comics discord server lots! https://discord.com/invite/jxcdKma Final parting words... this is hard. but, this has been a really wonderful community and it's been incredible to get to know you all and to learn from eachother how we have. it's truly been a blessing and I'm so grateful to rebel for this opportunity to share not only my work, but also myself with so many people! I hope that this isn't actually goodbye for us, and is just a "see you around!" As we all move forward, hopefully, side by side.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Here's my twitter!

https://twitter.com/ActuallyOctopi

Here's my comic!

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620

I hope I can continue to talk to you all in a different place.

kayotics

you can also mostly find me on twitter! https://twitter.com/kayartics

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

you can find me on twitter, instagram, or pillowfort! https://twitter.com/shadowhooddraws https://www.instagram.com/shadowhooddraws/ https://www.pillowfort.social/shadowhood

mathtans

SET 4.1: 10 years from now... I'm so bad at predictions. I can't even think properly about how different they were 10 years ago, though I suppose they are more mainstream. Perhaps there will be easier ways to archive or paper print a whole set. Hopefully also more representation from minority groups, and less concern with RL problems causing schedule hiccups. Which I guess just goes double for 20 years.

Though maybe there will be more animated webcomics, or holographic ones by then, or something.

SET 4.2: Long-term, hopefully it helps people feel more confident even if they're not the most amazing artist or anything. Also as was said by Miranda, bringing people together in terms of common ground.

SET 5.1: Reach me? I'm pretty much 'mathtans' everywhere (except on Facebook, where I'm mathstans because someone else got it there first). For social media, probably twitter's the best bet, as many others have led with. https://twitter.com/mathtans

I also have mathtans@gmail.com (does anyone here remember OS-tans? ... Anyway)

SET 5.2: Parting words? Thank you. I really just stumbled my way in here, a writer who doesn't know much beyond the basics of art, and have tried to do my best to offer accolades and constructive criticism. Rebel, you have done an amazing job, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. There was a time when I would sometimes look at the archive of a chat just to see what the pull quote was at the top. To those who actually spent some time reading my comic, thank you too... some of the nonsense is forever immortalized in Feb 2018. https://mathtans.blogspot.com/2018/02/s9332-faire-game.html

And best of luck to everyone out there, whether you've been at this for a while like me (probably showing better results, serious) or whether you've just started out. I can only hope I've made something of a difference out there. Until the next time.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Oh Lord I am so behind all this, with my RL tackling me to the ground... but I'll quickly answer these too, pardon my complete lack of timing. SET 1 1. Phantomarine is the one comic I loved because I was so late to the party (pun not completely intended ) 2. Phantomarine. Gosh I feel like I missed so much of this community. SET 2 1. It's the sheer freedom to create. 2. I started making comics for my students to teach them English. Then one thing led to another... SET3 1. More people should read webcomics because they are where the hub of creation in visual arts is. Experimentation, pluralism, excitement, passion. Everything is there. People will and do benefit as well as get entertained. 2. The sheer inclusivity, diversity, and curiosity that fuels creation. Friendliness, too, when people get to know you. SET 4 1. For better or worse, webcomics are becoming responsive to the means through which they are being experienced. We will always have standard formats but new will emerge that take advantage of new technologies as they come. Vertical format is one such example. In 20 years, webcomics would have become an industry, very much like print comics did, I'd say. 2. Webcomics change the world the same way art generally does: by reflecting society back to itself, and exploring ideas. SET 5 1. You can totally find me on twitter https://twitter.com/TantzAerine and if you will be so awesome as to want to read my historical webcomic Without Moonlight, you can find it here http://www.withoutmoonlightwebcomic.com/ . I definitely hope to see you. 2. I have been of the newest members of the community and I feel like I missed a whole world of richness. Still, I am thankful for what I got, and for the care and passion of everyone who kept the Comic Tea Party going for as long as it did. Thank you, and all the best.

[shirtlesssammy]

5x22: Swan Song

In light of recent news, we thought we’d finally tackle what might have been the end (until someone went and made a demon deal, giving us 10 more years of our beloved show!) It’s weird watching this and seeing what a bummer this all would have been if it had ended like this. Sure, it was epic, but I guess I’m a sucker for a happy ending when it’s about characters I’ve come to love more than my own family. I’m also going to point to this Twitter thread about good and bad show endings. Swan Song wouldn’t have been bad had we only had TFW for five years, but we’ve watched them grow over 15 years now, and I want to see them get some peace. (Thanks to all the meta writers for throwing out the much needed hope!)

The Road So Far:

Carry on my wayward son...

Now:

We open with Chuck Shurley narrating the origin story of the most important object in pretty much the entire universe. And I’m literally two minutes into rewatching this episode and already crying. He’s tells us about it’s original owner, Sal Moriarty. (Oh, Eric Kripke, of course it was.)

And how, after he died, it ended up in the hands of John Winchester, after some persuasion by his time traveling son.

Fade to Sam and Dean in Bobby’s salvage yard, drinking beer from the little green cooler. Dean tells Sam that he’s “in” on having Sam say yes to the devil.

Dean acknowledges that Sam can make his own choices. “Watching out for you? That’s kinda been my job, you know? More than that, it’s kinda who I am.” Seeing this image Dean has of himself shift to NOT be this is really great. Dean asks if this is really what Sam wants. Sam is more resigned than enthusiastic to the plan, obv.

Cut to Team Free Will collecting demon blood like they’re stocking up for the apocalypse (err..). Dean confers with Bobby about Lucifer’s location and they determine it is Detroit.

Once on the road, Dean can’t help but notice what a cute, slumbering angel he has in the backseat. Sam logically points out that angels don’t sleep. They talk about their plan, the odds of it working, and the reality that Sam won’t be coming back from the cage. Sam makes Dean promise that he won’t try and get him back. Dean balks at the idea. Sam makes him promise that he’ll find Lisa and live “some normal, apple pie life.”

Once in Detroit, the group finds many demons out and about. Sam and Bobby have a moment. Then Sam asks Cas to “take care of these guys” for him. Cas tells Sam that it isn’t possible. Sam asks him to humor him. Cas catches on just a little too late that he’s supposed to lie. Oh Cas, you beautiful, literal goob.

Sam then gets to the business of downing four gallons of demon blood. With that done, Sam and Dean turn themselves in to the demons, who bring them to Lucifer.

Chuck continues his monologue on the Impala. He mentions the unimportant features, and then mentions the important features: Sam’s green army man, Dean’s legos, Sam and Dean’s initials. The devil doesn’t know or care about their car.

The devil wants to know what Sam and Dean are up to.

Sam says he’s ready to say “yes.” The devil reveals that he knows they have the rings that will reopen the Cage. Fuuuuuck. Sam tries bluffing, but the jig is up. Dean’s look of anguish is devastating. Lucifer likes his odds on the battle that will happen in Sam’s head. He agrees. Before Dean can do anything more than say “No”, Sam says “Yes.”

A bright light flashes and Dean finds Sam knocked out on the floor. He throws the rings on the wall and gets to opening the door to Hell. Sammy awakens and Dean helps him towards the portal. Only, PSYCH! It’s actually Lucifer. Sam didn’t stand a chance against him. He closes the portal and takes the rings.  

Once away from Dean, Lucifer has a moment with Sam, where Sam makes it very clear that he’s not done fighting.

Lucifer appeals to Sam’s worst feelings about himself, but says he wants Sam to be happy. Sam doesn’t want anything from Lucifer. Lucifer then points out the group of demons behind him. They’re all people Sam knew in his life --they were all watching Sam for Azazel.

Dean, Bobby, and Cas are watching the fallout to Sam saying yes.

Shallow Sidenote:

(Those curls!)

Cas suggests they “imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave.” GRIM, DUDE --but he ain’t wrong. Cas doesn’t think there’s any way they can stop Lucifer and Michael meeting. Dean is not giving up (and he’s desperate guys -his insult at Cas was way harsh). Bobby’s even resigned to the reality of the situation.

We cut back to the room full of demons, but they’re all dead this time. Lucifer smugly looks at Sam in the mirror. “We having fun yet?” Ugh, Lucifer, you’re the worst.

Chuck’s narration cuts in like a road narrative, all misty colored and gentle. “They could go anywhere and do anything. They drove one thousand miles for an Ozzy show, two days for a Jayhawks game. And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars for hours without saying a word.” This beautiful interlude dissipates with a phone call and Chuck picks up, expecting Mistress Magda. (Eyebrow waggle.) LOL, nope! It’s Dean.

“You got a real virgin / hooker thing going on, don’t you?” Dean observes. Excuse me while I laugh forever over this line, with the confirmed Chuck-is-God context. Dean wants to know where the fight will happen. It’ll be at Stull Cemetery at high noon, just outside of Lawrence. Chuck doesn’t have any more useful information than that…but it’s a place to start.

Bobby and Cas try to prevent Dean from heading to Lawrence to intervene in the upcoming archangel showdown but their arguments are weak sauce compared to Dean’s need to save Sam. He heads off alone to Stull.

The cemetery is wispy with mist and bedraggled with age. Michael (wearing Adam) flaps in to greet Lucifer. (Side note: Saying that Michael is “wearing Adam” sounds like Adam is a fashion designer. In this epic showdown, Michael has been dressed by the FABULOUS Adam!) 

Both brothers seem regretful, but ultimately resolved. Lucifer questions why they’re fighting if neither of them wants to do it. Michael trots out the old “duty” argument. Lucifer offers an alternative: “We’re going to kill each other. And for what? One of Dad's tests. And we don't even know the answer. We're brothers. Let's just walk off the chessboard.” Hey, guys. It’s a really good point. It’s also an intentional mirror of Dean, Sam, and John that I refuse to stop getting emotional about.

Michael’s tempted for a moment. Damn serpent!! “I’m a good son,” Michael decides. “You haven't changed a bit, little brother. Always blaming everybody but yourself.” This is also an excellent fucking point, man. The rumble’s still on.

Speaking of rumbling, Dean approaches in Baby with Def Leppard cranked up loud. FUCK YEAH. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” To quote Tess McGreer’s Twitter feed: MY SON!

Michael’s not into the whole threesome battle, and heads threateningly towards Dean when the camera cuts suddenly to Castiel and Bobby who have just flapped in. “Hey, assbutt!” Castiel shouts before lobbing a holy oil molotov cocktail at Michael. Bless.

Michael poofs away. “You got your five minutes,” Cas says to Dean just before Lucifer explodes him. NOOOOOOO

Lucifer’s pretty crabby by this point, so when Dean tries to verbally reach Sam again, he hurls Dean into Baby. Bobby shoots futilely at Lucifer before Lucifer snaps his neck. NOOOOOOO

“Sammy, are you in there?” Dean asks desperately. PROTECT.

“He’s gonna feel the snap of your bones,” Lucifer promises Dean. He’s gonna kill Dean slow. I’d chortle over the classic villain “kill you slow” trope except that Lucifer is beating Dean bloody and it’s really, really not funny.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” a very battered Dean tells Sam, leaving me to stare into space thinking about how he must have said this on quiet nights, comforting young Sam over nightmares or monster-under-the-bed scares.

Lucifer draws his fist back to deliver a killing blow as Dean slumps in his hold. His eye catches on a little army man stuck in the ashtray and we get a montage of Dean and Sam moments set to the soundtrack of howling wind. Sam’s fist uncurls.

And that’s it. Sam takes control. “I’ve got him,” Sam tells Dean. He hauls the rings out of his pocket and tosses them to the ground, chanting the incantation to open the cage. Dean sprawls on the ground, leaning against the car, bloodied and broken. Sam panics at the threshold to the cage when Michael!Adam appears. 

Sam takes one more look at Dean before he opens his arms wide, ready to plunge into the cage. As Michael tries to haul him back, Sam pulls him in as well.

With a blast, the cage closes and Dean is left alone in the quiet, wind-swept cemetery.

He looks up a while later to find Castiel standing behind him, whole and unblemished. “You’re alive?” Dean asks.

“I’m better than that,” Cas says and…okay. He heals Dean with a touch, then brings Bobby back to life. Good job, Cas bby!

“Endings are hard,” Chuck says, and the scene switches to his office once again. “Endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass.”

We switch back to Dean and Cas in the Impala. Cas is headed back to Heaven to try to bring order upstairs. He’s ready to continue his heavenly mission, but Dean’s pissed off. “Where’s my grand prize? All I got is my brother in a hole.”

“You got what you asked for, Dean. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same. I mean it, Dean. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom?”

Cas flaps out. “You really suck at goodbyes, you know that?” Always, Dean. Always.

Dean says a temporary farewell to Bobby, then shows up at Lisa’s house, CLEARLY TRAUMATIZED. What a non-booty booty call. Lisa reads the room and pulls him in for a comforting hug. (Stay tuned for my 8,000 word essay on why Lisa is the best.) 

“Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family. And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point? No doubt endings are hard. But then again nothing ever really ends, does it?” Chuck vanishes, which is apparently his equivalent of dropping the mic.

Then, the show proceeds to not end, in the best way. Dean is still lost at Lisa’s, putting on a “normal” front. And outside, Sam appears under a flickering street light. To be continued…for ten more seasons. <3

Quoting is Hard:

This 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe.

As far as foreboding goes, it's a little light in the loafers.

Ain’t he a little angel?

I told you. This would always happen in Detroit.

MFEO. Literally.

I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave.

Cas, are you God?

Every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Sam back. But he isn't gonna do either. Because he made a promise.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[patrickbrewerisgay]

re: rpf drama again!!! 🤮

(tw for mention of suicide in regards to an anon message)

i was not going to post about this again because i said exactly what i wanted to say & got it all off my chest & felt much better about it after. actually i haven’t even THOUGHT about the whole thing since my little “rant” that i guess everyone loved (save one or two bad takes that i deleted, bc i was mad & then realized they were unproductive). i blocked everyone involved right away so i could be Done & move on & get back to the show & fandom that i really do love. but i’ve gotten a couple messages about things i didnt know about & i was just looking at wildxwired’s blog for the first time since the whole thing & i feel the need to comment on some stuff to clear things up.

(hopefully these cut things still function on this hellsite, though i don’t think they do anything on mobile)

1. i’ve never sent any “anon hate.” i feel like i’ve made it pretty clear that i am not a person who’s afraid of attaching my name to what i want to say. all i see on wxw’s blog is 2 messages (including the original that prompted her disgusting response, which i also DID NOT SEND) & then like a billion messages of “support” about the “hate,” so idk if there was more that she deleted. but i would NEVER tell someone to kill themselves?? i just want people to stop being gross, not die. also as a person who suffers from mental illness & has been suicidal in the past, & has also been on tumblr for a billion years & Seen Some Shit, i just. wouldn’t say that. you know only what people are posting about (which in this case is a very specific thing), you don’t know what else is going on in their lives & to prey on their mental health or deliberately try to trigger them is straight up vile & against every moral i hold. also in regards to anons, i am in constant contact with my group of friends who run other blogs on here & NONE of that is coming from us, or else i would know. we’ve moved on from you guys.

2. i don’t like rpf, but if you’re gonna do it, wildxwired actually did it the right way. she put it in a separate tag. she didn’t include any significant others. she even mentioned it was a sort of au. still don’t like it, but if you HAVE to do that, that’s a good example of how to help people avoid it, & also follows the compromise others & i suggested of keeping it out of the main tag. i also don’t care about your silly weird tentacle fics lol which i’ve already said don’t bug me bc they’re clearly ridiculous & in jest.

3. what i was specifically objecting to was wxw’s response to that anon, as well as those 4 drinkingstarsfic fics involving clare that everyone is supportive of, even if they didn’t write them. my main issue has ALWAYS been the involvement of real life significant others. i think it crosses a major boundary & i will continue to stand by that. idc as much about the other stuff, i obvs dont like it but it doesn’t horrify me in the same way. i still maintain that it’s non-consensual sexual content, even if it’s “only” written & even if the subject doesn’t know about it (even more non-consensual). how’d you like that stuff written about your sister, or even you? it’s violating. that’s MY stance that i stick by.

4. this has always applied to a very very small & specific group of people in this fandom that i can’t roll with. the vast majority of people i’ve met through sc have been AMAZING & honestly changed my life. i love this fandom so much & i (mostly) feel really safe here. i am getting everything i want out of my sc fandom experience & more.

5. y’all are like..... really misusing dan’s philosophy on love lol. he’s never meant “let anyone get away with anything & don’t speak out against things that you believe are wrong.” or else he wouldn’t have called out the reviewer who called him fey. or else he would just include homophobes in the show & show everyone loving them. he clearly has moral boundaries that he doesn’t believe people should cross, & he is vocal on speaking out against them. i admire that in him so much. also like he’s not a messiah, he’s not the boss of me & i’m not gonna follow all his personal philosophies like some kind of religious law lol.

6. censorship doesn’t mean telling someone on the internet your opinion about what they’re doing & how you BELIEVE they should take it down. censorship is FORCED. i’m not the government. i don’t even know HOW to report things on ao3 or if you even can. i don’t know their rules.

7. that one reply that was like “imagine being against rpf but loving your favorite actors so much that you know their anniversary” was so funny bc noah LITERALLY made an insta post about it yesterday. imagine loving your favorite actors so much that you follow them on social media.

8. for a bunch of women in their 30s, i’m like. appalled at how immaturely you all behave. get a life. stop deliberately goading people. stop harassing actual children on the internet. spend some time making a tangible difference in the world.

9. all the opinions i’ve expressed are mine & mine alone, & i do not claim to speak for anyone else, nor have i ever. so don’t take this out on others. if you have problems with me, address those problems directly to me. or get a proxy if you’re blocked. let’s behave like adults & communicate. OR let’s behave like adults & stop communicating when we can’t come to an agreement & it no longer is productive.

peace out losers ✌️

[shitimashamedtolike]

So, I have many Ideas!!

I'm not sure which of these to focus on and I'm getting frustrated since they're all BEGGING to be written. Can you guys help? Please? Vote in comments are with a reblog, constructive criticism, feedback of any kind is amazing! (Be prepared for a long of A/B/O, lmao) I only have one idea specifically for Leatherface but I DESPERATELY want more 😩

1. Feral: Escaped male Omega (dystopian au) is found by Hewitt's, claims Thomas as his, possessive, abo, murderous plot follows. Thomas has to protect said Omega from family, of course, but one of the major plot points is that because of the way omegas are treated(particularly male omegas) said Omega is basically feral, so, can't talk, very instinctual and dependant on his alpha. Also will encourage fights to see who's strongest so he can go to them. Only latches on to Thomas first because that was his first impression. Thomas has to brawl somebody first (most likely Drayton and Choptop) to prove that he can protect him and has good genes, etc. Has to earn submission from Omega, so no just rolling over. Omega has to be pinned and dominated. Minor pet play, ie collar, marking, possessive behavior, territorial behavior, Dom/sub, heats, bondage, scarring, and did I mention a shit ton of Gore? At one point a captive is going to break free and try to steal the Omega away, gets him into a car, and is hauling ass out of the driveway. Even makes it a town over, holes up in a hotel room. Omega biology dictates that an upset in hierarchy means a heat is necessary, so that starts happening, despite omegas heavy fighting. Thomas busts ass, literally RUNNING with the CHAINSAW THROUGH THE TOWN but because he pumping out APOCALYPTICLY enraged alpha, no one does anything. Recovers Omega and takes the guy back where he is tortured and eventually eat n alive by said Omega. Slice of life (a little) here and there, eventual mpreg, obvs.

2. ABO AU 2: Myers is still in asylum, they're running "tests" to see if they can get him to show his presentation, and/or react to others. He just ends up killing them until one trans!male Omega who is also mute and extremely pent up with rage is "roomed" with him and they both seem indifferent. Eventually omegas heat rolls by and for two days, he just deals with it without any issues. Then a couple of orderlies, seeing as Myers isn't doing anything and is indifferent as usual, let themselves inside and try to take advantage. Omega flips his shit, even in heat, and actually makes noise for the first time, snarling, as he fights back, gouging out an eye and almost ripping one of their throats out. This pisses the other two off even more and they manage to pin him down. Then, Omega actually speaks, one word, still snarled, "*Michael*!". Instant chaos as Myers, who's been quietly losing his shit in the background finally snaps. They don't escape but Myers fully presents (he always just controlled himself, he'd presented promptly at 12 like everyone else) to the staff as one HELL of an alpha and claims Omega. He literally stands by the Omega until Loomis and all the security come rushing in, only to freeze at the Gore covering the Omega and the room. ( Michael is spotless, having only broken the orderlies necks at the very end) Michael then scruffs the Omega, hauls him up, and very deliberately, slowly, showing the Omega is fully submissive, claim bites him. DEEP. Like, blood pouring out. HEAVY SCARRING. Everyone unfreezes after a moment and one security guard is a dumbass and tries to run in and haul the Omega away, who then flips his shit again and starts fighting him, stunning him since omegas are the "submissive" gender, to which Michael steps forward and literally rips his head off, gathers the Omega up in his arms and turns his back on the staff, settling the Omega into a corner, shielding him from them all.

3. DBD Prompt: Assuming that the entity just snaps people up as they are in the quote unquote real world, one time it gets a survivor who's disable (minorly) and has to use crutches. This survivor also comes from a universe where did is a video game that they love playing. They promptly freak the fuck out, and eventually pair up with one of the killer, eventually also transitioning into being a killer themselves. Multiple endings/directions. Pick your own adventure-ish?

4. DBD Prompt: Killers have been doing exceptionally well as of late and the entity is pleased. To reward them, it snags an Omega that's being chased by three would be assailants and let's them run right into the Killers camp. Another choose your own as to who ends up getting the reader, courting them. None of them are abo but whoever ends up courting the Omega is altered into one. Maybe they all are, once the entity sees that this makes them even more primal????

[stvrmwitch]

what advice would you give with improving & practicing dialogue? It’s something I really struggle with aaaahhh

You’re so valid anon!! Dialogue’s a massive pain in the ass ok. I feel u on that.

Short + Sweet

→ Write the crap version→ Edit the crap version→ Rinse & repeat

Slightly Longer + Less Flippant

→ Do writing exercises.→ Prep each scene by setting goals. What is your character after? How will the dialogue help get them there?→ In round one anything goes. Write the crap version was a real suggestion.→ Reassess your goals, ask yourself what it requires to reach them, then examine and edit what you’ve written → Phone a friend. Let them read through the struggle sections.→ Put aside your whole ass WIP and come back to it later→ Keep your goals in mind and keep revising until satisfied

Disasterpiece Edition™

“Practice makes perfect” sounds like some cookie-cutter oversimplification shit but it’s legit. Not even just as a general thing like write write write and you’ll get it right but specifically in applying lots of energy to a single WIP. 

The better I know a WIP and its characters, the better everything will flow as I’m writing/editing. Like I personally write around dialogue until I’m confident in a character’s core, and then I’ll worry about the how behind the why and develop sturdier dialogue. 

If you know you need dialogue but you haven’t found their voice just yet, shrug it off (easier said than done, I know babe) and toss out some clunky, funky, destined-to-die-in-draft-two dialogue that might be too on the nose or too understated or too wrong in whatever way. Save nuance for revisions. 

Just stare down the dialogue, say “I don’t like you,” and then hack it to hell until you find all the words you were looking for. That, to me, is practice.

Uh, improvement is tied into that obvs. Without a base, how can you build upward and all that jazz. Write the crap, edit the crap, turn the crap to gold.

Here’s some of what i do with dialogue:

→ Change dialogue text color (if your vision allows, this is a nice + quick visual cue for Edit Me Later Pls)

→ Avoid, avoid, avoid and pretend I don’t need it!!!!

→ Stop avoiding, me @ me: suck it up buttercup

→ Bracket what character(s) will talk about, and why if possible, then fill in actual dialogue later

→ Rip my own work to shreds

→ See what survived the shredding, and work off of that

Even writers who are unusually gifted or just experienced with dialogue have bumps along the way. I guess it’s just about sticking it out and trusting you’ll end up where you need to be.

Every draft is super bendy. My advice is bend with it and see what happens.

I mentioned setting goals. I consider character, plot, dialogue, etc. connected to the point that (short of imposing impossible standards on myself and my work) if one falls apart, the whole story does. That’s final draft expectations though. It takes a lot to get each element to its best condition. If dialogue is your weak link, think of ways to accommodate that. Use less of it maybe? Only make room for it where it’s absolutely necessary—which is what we should all be doing ideally lmao but no one’s writing is immaculate and necessity is a moving target.

Don’t stress it early on. When your characters interact, or even if they’re talking to themselves, you want there to be a reason behind their words. Dialogue is just communication. What are they saying? To whom? Why? How? 

Word choice, syntax, tone, subtext, gestures, facial expressions (esp. with sign language), demeanor, accent. I can’t think of what else, but everyone comes at things a little differently. Your character’s worldview and experiences will affect how they speak. Circumstance can alter the why and how too, like adopting a real fake customer service voice at work vs. how they sound around their best friend vs. how they react in a group setting. So consider what’s relevant, think of what patterns and habits would best represent your characters and how that feeds into their goals.

Saying lines out loud is known to help with a more natural flow.

Watch movies. Read the scripts. Read plays. Take notes, mental or hard copy it doesn’t matter. Pay attention to how dialogue tells stories and reveals character in mediums where it’s the driving force behind plot more often than not. 

I’ve rambled enough. I’ll leave you with this one last bit and the hope that any of this was coherent.

Do writing exercises. These are ones I like for myself, but find and tailor the ones that click for you.Literally anything that will give you insight into a character will further solidify the shape of their voice imo.

→ Search for dialogue prompts, fill one or ten.

→ “Escape the room.” Multiple characters, common goal, separate methods, talk it out. Problem could be anything, I just call it “escape the room” as a personal shorthand. 

→ Go persuasive. Take a couple characters (or more), give one a low stakes or no stakes though specific goal (like “convince X to ride the ferris wheel”), give them an obstacle (“X is afraid of heights”), and set their lips loose. 

→ Do an epistolary challenge.

→ Let your characters monologue!! About anything!!! Put them in a scene alone and let them speak thoughts to the air.