#tbf it's an entertaining one to watch other people play

[cyrsed]

i finished dead space (2023)!! and i finished dead space (2008) a couple days ago!!!

[kateofthecanals]

A Little Ditty About Jack and bi-Anne...

Welp, it's been nearly a decade since I discovered my last big ship hyperfixation -- shoutout to my aunt for texting my mom and me and telling us we HAVE to watch "Black Sails" on Netflix. So we did and WHOOPS, new OTP! And of course, as always with my OTPs, it's a ship that comes with some controversy. It just wouldn't be a ship of mine if there weren't some other, annoying competing ship that I constantly have to side-step in fandom spaces like a freaking minefield. What sets this one apart from those other ships, though, is the not insignificant number of posts I see from people claiming to be JackAnne shippers but who say things like "I love them they're just such good friends!" or calling them "platonic" or closing their eyes to ANY romantic aspects of their relationship. To which I have to say... well, A LOT.

For starters, I need to point out a very telling moment from the very first episode of the series. Jack and Anne are hanging out at the inn on Nassau when Max slinks over and sits on Jack's lap. Anne immediately reacts out of jealousy, rising from her seat and grabbing for her daggers, but Jack holds her off. (Max is not soliciting Jack for sex; she is trying to sell him the schedule that John Silver stole.) This seems to make it very clear that one of both of them considers themselves an exclusive couple. Apparently, Jack is not even allowed to partake in meaningless sex with the many prostitutes that populate the island! But that seems just fine with him, because, throughout the entire 4 seasons of this series, we never once see him even come close to hooking up with someone else. Like, he does not even entertain the notion. Even when he and Anne are on a "break" at the beginning of Season 3 when she is shacking up with Max, Jack has every opportunity to find himself another lover too, but he doesn't. The closest he gets is employing a prostitute to play cello for him while he takes a shit, lol. We later learn that Anne met Jack when she was 13; she's about 25 or so during the show, so they have been together for at least a decade (when they actually became lovers, though, is not clear). So, the fact that they are apparently in some form of a long-term monogamous relationship at the start of the series is a very important detail to keep in mind.

Now, my hot take (which I'll probably get hate mail for) is that Anne either (a) had always been openly attracted to women but never bothered to act on it out of her duty & loyalty to Jack, or (b) wasn't particularly interested in women at all prior to Max. Either way, I do not think Anne was "repressed" or anything and needed Max to, like, coax it out of her, because I don't think it was about that at all. It is clear that Max's particular gift of persuasion and seduction, coupled with their shared trauma and Anne's increasing need for intimacy and connection (which she was obviously lacking with Jack) is what led to their affair.

It's essential to look at Anne's arc through the lens of her backstory in order to properly contextualize it. She was a child bride, physically and sexually abused, with no real power until Jack gave it to her by killing her husband. (Note how she knows how to properly and gently administer the anti-pregnancy treatment to Max -- something she no doubt learned to do during her marriage.) It perfectly explains why Anne was so upset by Max's treatment on the beach and her willingness to go to such extreme lengths to free her. Even Jack -- who Anne insists would have backed her up even if he had known about it -- does not quite understand the effect the situation had on Anne. He outright says this, but is also still a bit dismissive of it. In fact, we frequently see Jack be quite insensitive toward Anne's feelings throughout Season 1. (Though, tbf, Anne herself is a bit inconsistent here -- she admonishes Jack for calling Max "the whore" but she herself refers to her as much... even after they started sleeping together!)

And this kicks off an increasing pattern of Jack seemingly becoming more and more dismissive of Anne on the whole. He stops including in her plans, and he is unable to remain aroused while having sex with Anne. She's angry, frustrated, and feeling unseen. Then there is Max, who is aggressively pursuing her. (There is a conversation to be had about the optics of Max's constant disrespecting of Anne's wishes to be left the fuck alone if she were a man but we won't go there now...) She not only offers Anne fulfilling sex but also something else that has been missing in her life -- intimacy. It's worth noting here that every sexual encounter between Jack and Anne that's on-camera is initiated by Anne. (Yes, even the tied-to-the-bed one, because she's topping and she's frustrated by his lack of interest, so it was most likely her idea.) This isn't someone who's, like, just laying back and thinking of England out of some sense of duty, like she probably did with her husband and his friends. She has an appetite and Jack is a willing participant. However, despite their love for and devotion to each other, it apparently kind of stops there. So it's no surprise that Anne finally gives in to Max. But when she finally does show up to Max's door, she looks like this:

This is not the face of someone who's anxious to start an affair. This is not the face of someone anticipating some world-changing discovery about herself. This is a face of... shame. This is the face of someone who knows they are about to betray someone else. Tbh if someone showed up to my door for a booty call looking like that, I'd tell them to just go back home.

But to Anne's surprise, Jack is... well, not exactly okay with it, but he accepts it, because it's clearly something Anne needs -- an itch she needs to scratch, as he puts it. And he's willing to give her that space rather than lose her completely. (Though Anne probably has mixed feelings about this too -- on the one hand relieved that Jack is accepting of it, but also partly wishing he would fight a little harder for her, that he didn't fly into a jealous rage... We all wanna be fought for, right?)

So Max opens up this whole new world for Anne, one where fucking can be something MORE. And whattyaknow, she wants to share this with Jack! Just because she is with Max doesn't mean she still doesn't want to be with Jack too. She could not be any more clear (save for actually SAYING so) that she wants to share this intimacy with him. The point is even driven home after their first threesome, when it's with JACK that she is doing her post-coital cuddling. Like DUDE she is trying to tell you something, PAY ATTENTION!

Just a coupla bros snuggling after sex ☺️

Meanwhile, Max is coming to the very swift conclusion that she will never truly have Anne all to herself, so she tries to further drive a wedge between them by initiating a little "moment" with Jack during another one of their trysts. This after Anne had told Jack that she's aware Max is probably playing her, so she needs Jack close by to make sure Max does not succeed in driving a wedge between them.

Anne: "I need you to watch my back in there, Jack."

Jack: "SAY LESS."

The ultimate wingman 👍

We also see Jack putting 2 and 2 together when he hears Max explaining to Idelle the difference between fucking and seducing (though he doesn't seem to take this hint for HIMSELF... sigh). So now another strike against Jack -- actually engaging with Max while in bed with her and Anne.

The NERVE!!!

Then comes the straw that breaks the camel's back... the ultimate betrayal. When Jack's new crew gives him an ultimatum between Anne and Max, he chooses Max (for business and financial reasons). This sends Anne into a spiral. She even tries to join another crew but they tell her that if even Jack Rackham doesn't want her any more, why would they? She then has a full-on mental breakdown. She murders two innocent people (one of which is a member of Captain Flint's crew) and instead of trying to flee, she stays at the scene of he crime and waits to be discovered, and face the inevitable consequence -- her own death. Luckily, Max finds her and tries to help her, and it's here that we (and Max) learn Anne's backstory. Anne laments that she doesn't know who she is without Jack and wonders who she could have been if they had never met, if she could have found a way to save herself instead. Then Max gives her an oversized dress to wear and Anne basically reverts to her previous self before she met Jack -- a scared little girl silently following a strange man into the bedroom. Freaking heartbreaking!!!

But Max affords Anne an opportunity to exist and operate outside of Jack by giving her a little spy assignment in another port. It's the longest period of time and furthest she has ever been separated from Jack and it gives her time to put things in perspective. She even at one point considers just taking off on her own somewhere entirely. But ultimately she decides to return to Nassau and to Jack, telling him that it was an impossible choice he was given. The way his eyes are all glassy and his voice cracks when they are reunited UGH....

He wants SO BAD to hear Anne say that she came back to be with him (and possibly make it official?) and even presses her about it the next day. Thus comes Anne's infamous "I can't be your wife" line, which always makes me 🤨 because uhhhhh you WERE his wife, gurl lmao. But in the context of everything that just happened, it makes sense -- she wants/needs an identity outside of Jack. However she still wants to be by his side until the day they die. Kind of the king of mixed messages there...

The tear!!! 😭

Following this, Anne enters her "Have Your Cake and Eat It Too" Era. She wants to continue her affair with Max, but she also wants to keep Jack near… ish. After returning to Nassau, she even moves out of Jack's room and into Max's(!!?). The threesome is over. She completely takes for granted that Jack will just always be there when or if things go sideways with Max (and lbr she’s right; he would 100% take her back no questions asked.) Jack complains that he barely even sees Anne anymore but he just has to suck it up and take it, even when it's being constantly rubbed in his face. Even so, it's never far from Max's mind that eventually Anne is going to have to choose between her and Jack and she will inevitably be left out in the cold. She even tells Jack this, even though he has his doubts. Anne resists the idea of breaking things off, but Max soon convinces her that they might as well call it sooner rather than later. And after all that initial hemmin' and hawin' and whimperin', Anne moves on pretty quick. Jack left her out of ONE sailing expedition and she became SUICIDAL, but she breaks up with Max, whom she is supposedly in love with, and she's sad for like a day, lol. Just sayin...

So now Jack and Anne are officially back together and making a clean break from Nassau to start a new life somewhere else with their cache of jewels. But of course, Jack being Jack, he's like "on second thought nah Imma go back get myself a pardon so I don't have to change my name brb!" He's obviously arrested immediately, setting off a whole insane chain of events that the entire rest of the series hinges on. (istg Jack is the Peter Quill of "Black Sails" lmao)

Now here is when Anne's declaration about not being Jack's "wife" enters shaky ground. This is also a good time to address the term "partner". This is a word bandied about and bounced around between several characters and dynamics throughout the course of the series, usually in reference to a financial or business alliance. Jack and Anne are frequently referred to as partners too, but when it comes to them, the term takes on a whole other more nuanced and deeper (and some might even say co-dependent) meaning. They are partners in every conceivable sense of the word -- they are partners in piracy, they are partners in companionship, they are partners in the bedroom, and they are partners in life. What is Jack's is also Anne's and vice versa. Any conversation about their futures is always intertwined with each other. After being captured by Woodes Rogers, Jack basically refers to Anne as his "wife" when positing a hypothetical scenario to Rogers in which their predicaments are switched. Meanwhile, Anne tells Flint that, in their plan to rescue Jack and recover the cache, Jack means more than the money or Flint's war, because "what I got to lose ain't so easy to recover from." So, you know, she can sit there and SAY she can't be his wife, but lbr.... SHE IS.

This point is driven home when she discovers Jack still alive in the wreckage of the carriage, she scrambles breathlessly inside, grabs him, and plants the biggest damn kiss on his lips. Yeaaahhhh Max WHOMST? ;-)

Just a coupla bros high-fiving… with their mouths ☺️👊

Now, it’s conceivable, though perhaps unlikely, that this is the first time Jack’s ever had a real brush with death, or the first time Anne has faced such a situation. Either way, things seemed to have changed from this point on. Because this is the first time we've seen them kiss! Again, unlikely they've never kissed before but this is the first time WE have seen it, so it must be significant... right?

So what changed? My best guess is that, with Max now out of the picture - and she having lied to Anne's face about Jack being tortured while under arrest to manipulate her into giving up the cache - and with their futures currently on extremely shaky ground now that Nassau has been taken over by Woodes Rogers, Jack is really the only stable thing in her life at this point. No matter what else happens in the world, they at least have each other, and that is the one thing she knows she can count on. And having faced the very real possibility of his imminent death (either by the noose in Port Royal or in the carriage crash), Anne is realizing that he is her world, and she is determined to hold onto that for dear life.

Soon the roles are reversed, when Jack and Anne are captured by Rogers while fighting on Blackbeard's crew. After brutally keelhauling Blackbeard, the rest of the crew are chained up in the hold and Jack forced to choose crewmembers to fight one of Rogers's thugs. One by one, the crewmen are picked off, until Anne convinces Jack to let them take her next, which he is obviously NOT about but reluctantly agrees. Indeed, she gets absolutely pummeled, and she severely injures her hands while attacking the thug with broken glass shards. She's able to get a hold of the keys and toss to the crewmen to break free, and they subdue/murder Rogers's thugs. But Anne is severely, almost fatally, injured. Jack cares for her as best he can with their meager resources on the ship.

Here, have a Renaissance painting.

When they get back to Nassau, Max confronts Jack and tells him that the best way to defeat Rogers is by going to Philadelphia and appealing to the now-dead Eleanor Guthrie's grandfather for help. Jack agrees to the plan, and even invites Max to come with him. Which made me wanna pull my hair about because DUDE, you JUST got Anne back to yourself and were THIS CLOSE to leaving Max completely behind y'all and now you want to reintroduce her into Anne's space again?? Either he's feeling super secure or he's an idiot. (Since it's Jack, I'm opting for the latter...)

As expected, the first thing Max wants to do when she gets on the ship is see Anne, which Jack allows (duuuuuude!!!!). Luckily, Anne tells her to get the fuck out, and AS ALWAYS, Max initially refuses. But Anne insists so she finally leaves. The next time Jack goes to tend to Anne, all of her mixed emotions are stirred up again, which is honestly the last thing she needs. Jack confirms that he told Max to not visit her again and says "You can murder her another day." Which confirms for me that he really does think he's sitting pretty with Anne now, because it seemed clear to me that that was not what Anne was thinking at all. She just didn't wanna deal with it.

So they get to Philly, and poor tropical-blooded Jack is completely ill-prepared for northern weather. He tells Max to stay on the ship because he's pretty sure she will double-cross him and serve him up on a platter for prosecution at the first opportunity. When Jack finally gets in to see Grandpa Guthrie (but not before telling Featherstone to find a proper doctor in the city to tend to Anne), he blows Jack off, but his wife takes him aside and presents herself as the real brains behind the operation and is intrigued by the proposal. So, new plan: Jack brings Max to the followup meeting hoping to appeal to Granny Guthrie's feminist ideals or whatever. It seems to work, and Granny agrees to the plan, but with one caveat -- she wants Flint dead, and she wants Jack to pull the trigger.

Soooo at this point, I'm pretty much convinced this is a death sentence for Jack, because, well, Flint is the main character, there's no way that, if Flint does die, it's gonna be at Jack's hands. Jack seems to be feeling the same way, as he returns to the ship as if condemned. Anne, who is now up and about (and looking very Virgin Mary-esque), greets him on the deck where he tells her what he has to do. She doesn't seem to doubt that he can accomplish it -- she is more worried about how he will be able to live with himself after. But he reminds her of why he is doing any of it in the first place -- for them. He prepares to leave, and they share the sweetest frickin' kiss in the history of mankind.

Just a coupla bros sharing a tender kiss

When I first saw this, I was nearly sobbing, because I was convinced this was the last time they would see each other. Jack may have thought so too, even if Anne didn't.

So Jack sets off to his fool's errand, leaving the door wide open for Max to turn Anne's head again. In the meantime, Anne, for some reason, enlisted Idelle to find her a list of other ships leaving Philly, because Anne intends on just peacing out, even though, as she tells Idelle, she's sure Jack will return. Sooooo, what, then Jack gets back, and she would just be gone?? Kind of a dick move! I have no idea why Anne was wanting to leave. There's a moment preceding Idelle's entrance where Anne attempts to slice a piece of bread but her injured hands won't work -- does she want to leave because she feels she would be useless now or something? That she would be some sort of hinderance to Jack? That she doesn't want to have to rely on him any more than she already does if it turns out she has lost some if not all of the use of her hands? And that she wants to leave while he's out to sea so that he doesn't have the chance to talk her out of it when he gets back? That is honestly all I can think of.

At any rate, Idelle then jumps into this whole dumb speech about how amazing and wonderful Max is, and how she wants to share all her successes and spoils with Anne. It's fucking annoying but LOOK, it seems to have kept Anne from getting on a boat and leaving Philly, so fine, whatever.

Meanwhile, Max has another meeting with Granny Guthrie, who has another caveat, this time for Max -- she wants her to marry the man she has picked out to be Nassau's next governor. It would be a completely political marriage, in name only. Max refuses. Why? Because it might interfere with her chances of getting back together with Anne.

CUE ALLLLLL THE EYE ROLLS.

Like GURL, did you not hear her?? She said SHAM MARRIAGE. Meaning, do whatever the fuck you want behind closed doors. Now, call me crazy, but I would have thought that Max would refuse this arrangement because, you know, she comes from slave culture where white men took advantage of brown girls in this way all the time? Max herself even gives this big speech at one point about how she had to sit back and watch the master of the plantation where she was a slave, who was her father, play with and dote on his other (white) daughter. You'd think THIS would have played a bigger role in her decision. But no. She's just really concerned about the minor possibility that she and Anne will hook up again. (Even Anne doesn't see an issue with the marriage proposal.) So, Max whimpers and whines all this to Anne, who doesn't say anything but holds out her hand to Max. Which was nice and all, but it really doesn't tell us much about Anne's intentions here. But it seems like Anne is indicating that she forgives Max for lying to her and that she at least is willing to be friends again.

Meanwhile, Jack finally reaches Skeleton Island, but instead of killing Flint, he rescues him, and together they decide to engage Rogers in one final battle. Indeed, they end up double-teaming him and defeating him and his crew. Jack refuses to kill him, though, deciding that getting Granny Guthrie to purchase and then default on Rogers's debts will be a fate worse than death for him.

And so, Jack returns to Philly, and Anne is right there to greet him, running through the busy streets and right into his waiting arms.

Just a coupla bros hugging it out.

The moment is slightly ruined, though, when Max comes out and stands watching from a distance with a pouty look on her face. Jack catches her eye and suddenly looks... guilty? For WHAT?? For having the love of his life wrapped out him like a shroud cuz she's so freaking happy to see him again?? GO AWAYYYY.

Anyway, this is the last time we even see Anne and Max in the same space together. The series, and the story of Jack and Anne, wraps up when we see Jack back in Nassau, now out of English hands again and being governed by Featherstone -- but with Max the true power behind the throne -- insisting to a young recruit named "Mark" Read that piracy no longer exists in Nassau but okayitkindadoesbutshhhh. He invites "Mark" onto his ship, where "Mark" is introduced to Anne, who clocks “him” immediately (of course it's Mary Read, y'all!). She and Jack then take stock of the new and improved flag for their ship, which turns out to be the now infamous and iconic skull-and-crossed-swords emblem we all now associate with pirate ships. Cue credits! The End!

So, WHEW, Jack and Anne both made it out of this series alive, which honestly I didn't see coming. AND they ended up together again, as they should be. Of course, it's kind of bittersweet, because if you know anything about the real Jack and Anne, you know that the introduction of Mark/Mary Read means the beginning of the end for them. Still, the series ends on a perfect note, and you cannot convince me that, after everything we saw just in Season 4 alone, that these two won't rekindle their romance at some point -- if they haven't already. Because they just aren't the same people that they were when the series started, and their relationship is on a different footing now too. And even if Anne does decide to restart things with Max, or anyone else for that matter, the fact is, that person will never have all of Anne. It was always be Anne and Jack; they are a package deal. I'm not talking about a throuple situation here (even when Anne was sleeping with both Max and Jack, it was never an actual threesome, because Jack and Max didn't really like or trust each other); I mean that that 3rd person is always going to have the knowledge looming over them that Jack is #1 in Anne's life. Even Max knew this, and she decidedly not to delay the inevitable by breaking things off with Anne prematurely ("you can't fire me, I quit!"). And that's how it will always be.

[perelka-l]

All the moments Light and Near would probably kill each other if given a chance to be within vicinity of less than 20km of each other that I find amusing (when I think about it, Near is at least a continent across from Light at most of the time so that distance could be bigger, and we all know what happened when they ended up in the same room).

Let's start with the classic. First sentence and guy was itching for a pen.

Bitch thought he was the boss hilarious ain't it

"Who is this guy" and thus Light will spend pondering on this next *checks timeline* a bit over two months, wow

Anyway I wanna see how you fuck this up good luck

As a side note I deeply believe Rester is deeply unappreciated in terms of *makes swooping movements with hands* everything. Dilfery. Anyway, here he serves as a translator of Near's thoughts into polite.

hey bitch how are you doing with this mess

I would elaborate here but there is a fuckmothering missile in play so yanno.

Near is like ayyyyy casually getting people in to question them, the famous hobby of his, meanwhile Light is back on his "oh no if i say x he will think i am kira" let's give him a bit of time

and you fucked up, "L". everything is your fault. sucks to be you.

(I probs would also fuck up but you were the one to do the fuckup so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

ngl i feel like he is mocking Light here a lil' and it's not a genuine plan, especially considering that within next two pages he grills Yagami senior for confirmation that yep, it was Mello

sucks to be you,, gotta suffer

anyway i don't need you anymore "L". Light itching for that notebook so hard.

you haven't done shit so basically I used you when it was convenient for me LOL

hilariously light is very pissed even though like. That's why he was L for all those years. And yet he still gets furious. Just amazing.

Light gets owned by a froggy Near and it's a true delight to watch how Near just casually belittles him like that. Peak entertainment.

He was so happy to hear Near miserable after THAT exchange like wow you got fucked a lil' you dumb kid (he doesn't know he's a kid yet)

"see this is what happens when you ignore the power of the notebook lol" "hey i wonder who is a dumb bitch who lost it" PEAK

who are you where is light what have you done with him

"L2" he ain't backing up that easily, he had to let out that one little snark huh

Geee Light I wonder why people assume that

I WONDER.

Honey calm down I know you just got dick sucked by president of USA but calm down

Anyway few explosions and some troops being thrown back and forth later, Light has to get used to Near being annoying. Again.

Week is a long time tbf like you have this little guy calling you every day while you are trying to not have your evil plans backfire into your face smh

give him time babe, he'll get there

"my sus detector is ringing like crazy"

Anyway, allow me to continue later.

[theeleventhhour]

whatever is happening with Billy and Bob and Bondy I just know Van is fuming

Sorry for replying late

But yeah. I don’t know Van but if I were in his place I’d be completely mad too. I’ve been on situations where I’ve fallen out with people and my friends still being their friends and i couldn’t stand it. It took me a while to gain the maturity of don’t care about it and learn that I can’t force people to like someone or not.

I don’t know what happened between Van and Bob/Bondy/Billy and I’d really want to know all the gossip. Tbf I’d feel hurt seeing people that “left me” (I repeat idk what happened to cause the departures) being successful and remain friends while the anger and envy are consuming me, also the feeling of failure bc the band is the work of his life and he and all put a lot on it.

But it isn’t that recent. I remember seeing like a year ago an ig story of Bob and Billy together, and around that time Vegas posted on Reddit something about going out for a beer with Billy and Benji who was out the equation of the drama. Maybe they remained friends trough the years or maybe with all the stuff that happened they reconnected to talk about life. Remember they all grew up in the same small town and they probably still there or at least they come often.

I do think there isn’t any relation with Billy and Bondy. I’ve heard that Billy said some things of Bondy and the fans so Bibby complimenting him it’s kinda weird. I believe Bondy likes his comments because is very polite but that’s all, as far I know he even doesn’t follows him back.

Despite of all I love that Bob and Bondy are still being friends, it shows they care about each other and they are super talented to be doing nothing. I’m happy to seeing them happy with their own bands. At the end it’s about doing what you live the most and if they were unhappy in catb maybe this was (and seems) to be the best option.

Also Billy did a podcast where he talked about catb, I haven’t heard it but I think one of my mutuales said he talked very good about it like reminiscing the good old days and kinda redeemed(? about that stuff he said.

Honestly I don’t know what to think about him but he have to reckon he had done his part of the effort that involved the first album and was his band too. It must have been hard watch it succeed after he left. After all he and the boys are just people with valid feelings like you and me.

Btw sorry for beating around the bush anon. It’s just I don’t know how to feel about it. We have a lot unsolved questions. What’s up with Benji nowadays? Where is Van? (at least we know he’s alive and wherever he is has internet). Will ever Catb come back? If yes, who are the members? Could reuse some old producers (sardy?) or members?

Idk where it Van but I wish he’s taking care of himself and keep playing music, not for the industrie but because it moved his life. I must admit I’m a little worried about him, how much pressure must feel he now to be noticed to be removing likes from ig posts in order to not be seen online. If is annoyed with so little I can’t picture seeing him dealing with the big press.

At least he’s unpacking a lot of merch to keep us entertained!

Anyways sorry again for the massive texts and thank you for swimming by my asks!

[manysmallhands]

#44: Little Mix - Black Magic

Released - May 21st 2015

Highest UK Chart Position - #1

Spotify streams to date: 533,968,603(!!!)

First Heard - On release

I am ashamed to say that, over the last 20 years, and especially the last decade or more, i have largely missed out on chart pop. I can blame a lot of it on illness, in that i’m never sat in front of the TV with other people nor stuck in the car with them either, and so i avoid the kind of community experience which means that you know what’s in the charts whether you like it or not. But part of it is just to do with the fragmentation of entertainment in general: the radio station I listen to has its own “hits” now and the places I look for music on the internet are often as clueless as I am about stuff outside their lane. As such, I know next to nothing: I could perhaps vaguely tell you what Call Me Maybe and Get Lucky sound like but I wouldn’t swear to it, and while I’m sure I’ve heard New Rules and Shake It Off (and I’m pretty sure that I enjoyed them too), I can’t remember a note of either. This is not to be snobby - I like pop music, I really do! -  but there’s just a lot going on these days and this stuff tends to slip past you unless yr paying attention. But just once in a while, I surprise myself by actually noticing something and so here we are. 

I have no idea why I heard Black Magic when it came out, because I haven’t regularly known what was at number one since about 2006. But I remember looking up the video for some reason and it blew me away completely, certainly enough that I’ve got the (really quite good) Get Weird album on my computer somewhere too (don’t let them other suckers hate on you!). At first, my main takeaway was its vibes-based similarity to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, which is a dangerous place to go in a post Blurred Lines-case world (I think I heard Blurred Lines just the once - not feeling too bad about that tbh). But this is not merely a cheap rip off (tbf it is a bit of a cheap rip off, just not merely so): the stomping bridge and four lines each girl group dynamics make it a bullishly modern update of an earlier era, albeit one with enough familiarity that the styles compliment rather than clash. And above all, it’s simply a wonderful and exciting pop song. I feel like I’m being played as I enjoy it - as surely it must have been at least in part created to gain some wider appeal beyond their younger fanbase - but as the pleasure centres of my brain light up every time they shout “HEY!” and the tears well in my eyes at the “falling in love” coda, I have to admit that they won fair and square. Black Magic is the secret potion in itself and, as my third and final number 1, it’s also (alongside King Kunta (#43)) another satisfyingly popular jewel to decorate this otherwise rather obscure end of the list with. Now just watch someone split the vote with Shout Out To My Ex.

[aethersea]

sometimes you just have to watch the last samurai and weep

[faejilly]

1/2) I was wondering what you thought of the Malec sparring scene in 3b. I wanted to like it, thought I would cause I'm really kinda into that sort of thing, but instead it just, I don't know, upset me. I couldn't help but see it as just another instance of the show undermining Alec to makes another character look good and I hate when they do that. Not just because Alec's character is basically tailor made for me to take one look at and go "MINE" at (which it absolutely, 100% is) but also

2/2) it’s just really shitty writing to constantly diminish one character to prop up another. But I see so many people seemed to love it and am I being oversensitive?  

Hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, there’s no oversensitive. AND I HAPPEN TO AGREE WITH YOU, so. There is that. 😅

I dislike the Magnus training scene on about three (four?) different levels, tbqh, and I can headcanon all of them away, but it’s not… it does not, imo, work as is, and if you can enjoy the pretty regardless, that’s fine, but if you can’t… that’s fine too.

First: the scene at the end of the previous episode, where Magnus asks for help, is one of the most beautifully done Malec scenes in the show, imo, because Magnus is bad at asking for help, and here he does, and Alec is so gentle with him, and has one hell of a clunker of a terribly written line but he makes it work anyways because that’s what Alec does and the way Magnus pulls him in by the waist when they’re kissing there in the apothecary (in what is arguably the one place in the world that is most Magnus’, but he wants Alec there too) is just. Sublime.

But the training scene doesn’t follow on that note at all, so even if it was flawless I wouldn’t like it just because it’s ignoring how we got there. Especially since I liked how we got there. It was so lovely! And then. Completely different tone.

SECOND: The stated point of Alec training Magnus was, based on what we saw previously, to help him retrain his instincts. That is, if he’s in trouble, that he would react physically, so there’s not a stutter as he reaches for magic that’s not there, because that delay in reaction time is dangerous. THIS MEANS… that sparring isn’t actually much help for that, not initially. They need to be training the reaction, which is like katas, or a tai chi routine, or the damn heavy bag Alec likes so much. You pick the reaction you need to have and you practice it over and over and over again until your body does it without you having to think about it. (And then you practice fighting to make sure you’ve got it.) That’s what Magnus needs. There’s no argument that he knows how to move, that he probably knows how to fight, how to spar, but he needs to change his instinctive reaction.

Third disconnect! Magnus has spent 400 years learning things, sure, but he doesn’t train and practice and physically fight every single damn day like Alec does, so… there shouldn’t be any question who would win in a purely physical confrontation, even without runes. Sure, when Magnus had his magic it’d be a different story, (but tbqh Shadowhunters are trained how to fight magical creatures so it still shouldn’t be easy) but HE DOESN’T HAVE HIS MAGIC, AND HE SAID HE NEEDED HELP, THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT. LET HIM NEED HELP. LET ALEC HELP HIM.

aCTUALLy, this is 3rd & 4th, because let Magnus ask for help, that’s a very good character note and a very mature thing that he needs to be able to do, and doesn’t make him weak as a person or a character or something, come on show…

and also FOURTH: let Alec be good at the only things you’ve said he’s good at! LET HIM BE PHYSICALLY COMPETENT at fighting AND ALSO EMOTIONALLY/MENTALLY COMPETENT AT TRAINING. Like. This is a thing it is strongly implied he’d be good at? He’s good with kids, he practically raised his siblings, he’s in charge of an Institute and has been half-running things since he was a freaking teenager LET HIM BE GOOD AT KEEPING HIS PEOPLE UP TO SPEED?!?!!!

Now. ERM. Where was I?

Right. The actually training. Showing a guy stabbing a mannequin fifty times is probably not as entertaining as some sparring, I guess, but that’s lazy thinking because, honestly, Alec’s hands all over Magnus adjusting his stance and pushing him to do it over and over ‘til they’re both all sweaty is golden, wtf show, the tension build-up would be glorious, because each time they’d get a little closer to breaking form, but they wouldn’t do it.

Gah.

And then! Then you could have a legitimately fun switch to sparring because they already did the work and you wouldn’t have this jarring disconnect between Alec trying to be serious and Magnus (despite being the one who asked for help!) just playing. They could both be playing! It would actually be them obviously pushing each others buttons! Because what we got was more Magnus giving up after one exchange and then dismissing Alec’s help and then Alec eventually going, ah well, wtf, guess I can’t actually train him, let’s kiss. Which, tbf, he clearly always wants to kiss Magnus, but it’s still a really weird dynamic, because that’s not at all where he seemed to be during the sparring, he really wanted to help and Magnus wouldn’t let him and Alec shouldn’t have been okay with that dismissal. 

So, honestly, wow, my italics abuse is off the charts today, sorry. Um. I don’t like the scene because it undermines Magnus, makes him look petty and disrespectful (ymmv! obviously!) in a way that I feel is out of character, and it also undermines one of the few chances the show gave Alec to be good at what he does. Like, it says he’s good at what he does, but then it only ever shows him failing and that’s… depressing and distressing on a couple different levels.

And it’s especially distressing, because a lot (not all, but a fair bit) of the training and fight scenes they’ve done for other characters/plots have been very in character, so the fact that this isn’t is, much like the other stuff I talked about in 3b earlier, even MORE annoying because they almost got there. They set it up so well, they’ve done emotional compelling choreography before, it should have been better.

NOW. If you ignore the context and are just watching them dance around the training room, yes it’s pretty, but it doesn’t (for me) fit the set-up the previous episode gave it, and it doesn’t do justice to either of the characters.

[xplrvibes]

I started to get into twitch more lately because some people on there are actual entertainers and its like watching a live show. What i dont like about twitch besides the mod process which I've seen others complain about to you, is who they make affiliate, they do it based on amount of hrs they've been live and viewers per stream oppose to actual years or months spent on the app. Its an issue because I've seen people put their ALL into their streams and take years to make affiliate while others get it in weeks. Being an affiliate means you can get actual donos and make money and then with partner you can get sponsors and ads. So basically some of these celebs or influencers and those associated with them could be making bank without even trying while others get left in the dust. Its like Onlyfans all over again.

I mean, I kind of get why they would base it on the amount of viewers- the more viewers a streamer has, the more revenue is likely to pour in for twitch and the sponsors/advertisers. It's a numbers game.

Unfortunately, it seems like it's set up to be a numbers game that is more beneficial to already established names from the start. I mean, if I started a twitch where I just sat around and rewatched episodes of Little House on the Prairie every night (personal goal of mine tbh), and 3 days later, the girl who plays iCarly decided to do the same thing- I mean, whose LHotP Review is going to bring in more viewers/money? Not ol' xplrvibes, that's for sure.

(I'm aware that was a bad analogy, yes)

Anyway, that's what all social media had come down to- gotta make a name for yourself on one platform, than just show up on all of the others and hog the spotlight from all the kazoo players and jugglers and Rollercoaster Tycoon aficionados who just want to do their thing and try to at least break in to the business.

This is suuuuuuper embarrassing to admit, but when I was a kid, I was really into radio. And radio, tbf, was the hot thing in the late 90s/early 2000s. Stern was still around and you had 8000 other shock jock stations that were all trying to break in and make a name for themselves in the industry. And you know what started happening? They started handing radio shows off to any celebrity who liked the sound of their own voice because they didn't want to invest any time into building someone up...they just wanted an already established name to bring in the kind of numbers/revenue Stern could bring in. David Lee fucking Roth had a nationally syndicated morning radio show at one point.

It became all about the names, and not about making names.

Therefore twitch=the heyday of terrestrial radio, in my ancient old lady mind. And that shit didn't end well for terrestrial radio.

Anyway...what were we talking about again?

[celestialvexation-arch]

u already know what im gonna say. joxkin for the ask meme please

who hogs the duvet

definitely joxter, the bastard. as much as he would sleep atop the furs, snufkin’s gonna wake up annoyed when he’s waking up nearly freezing lmao

who texts/rings to check how their day is going

in the modern era, snufkin would be the one with the usual “hey, how’s today?”. neither aren’t particularly ones to text / call all the time

who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts

joxter, tho tbf, it’d be best if snufkin is the one to think of the creativity“no, papa. what am i to do with a dead bird??” “...eat it?”

who gets up first in the morning

mmmm. it’s either or! they aren’t ones to wake up early in the morning, or the morning at all since both are lazy bastards that would wanna soak in the sun before having to get up from bed lmao

who suggests new things in bed

neither? see, they don’t need to vocally suggest them as they are more communicative with their words. if they do find something that they would want to try out again, they’d make it clear with each other! if not or one of them is uncomfortable with it, then it wouldn’t even be brought up

who cries at movies

neither. both father and son found more beautiful things in nature than what people would do for entertainment

who gives unprompted massages

snufkin! the joxter would be lazing about, not rlly paying much attention to his surroundings so feeling those hands on him would give him a surprise lmao. while he can sniff out snufkin’s scent, he wouldn’t know just how close he’d be until he feel those hands kneading at his shoulders

who fusses over the other when they’re sick

not rlly fusses, but joxter would be more alert than usual whenever snufkin is to fall ill. call it instincts from what had happened this one time whenever the joxter happened to be around in snufkin’s life when he had been lil

who gets jealous easiest

hmmm. i rlly don’t see either of them being the jealous type? i’d say snufkin could feel some semblance of jealousy due to his want to have his father as close as possible. i mean, the guy had been out of his life for years; he isn’t wanting him to be taken away somehow!

who has the most embarrassing taste in music

neither. snufkin has his harmonica that could be heard all around the forest with the lil critters harmonizing with him. all the joxter would ever hear that’s pleasing to everyone else is his son’s music and whatever song the moomins would sing on occasion! 

who collects something unusual

the joxter would bring lil trinkets ( pendants, rocks that would hold beautiful gems within them, books of unknown languages, etc ) from his travels! souvenirs that snufkin has never seen within moominvalley! there’s currently a shelf that holds all these items, a few more delicate than others

who takes the longest to get ready

neither. they take as much time needed to prepare themselves for the day!

who is the most tidy and organised

snufkin. while the joxter would just throw his clothes in whatever direction, snufkin would just pick them up and fold them. he could tell his papa to clean up after himself but all he’d get is a flick of the tail

who gets most excited about the holidays

both! whenever the days are to approach, they are to be reminded of the merriment and food that surrounds that specific day. and lbr, while the joxter’s content in just loafing at a corner, he’d be sure to sneak in some food uvu

who is the big spoon/little spoon

pretty obvious, but snufkin’s the lil spoon!

who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports

neither! they don’t even play anything that’s to require much thought or physically demanding

who starts the most arguments

there wouldn’t be fights or arguments. both know that by the end of day, it’s to be rectified in some way. there’s no need to exacerbate things further based on pure emotion

who suggests that they buy a pet

nooooooo......

does the joxter count?

what couple traditions they have

grooming is one where the joxter tends to do so with snufkin ( much to his chagrin ), usually before they are to take a bath together. every other day, they would head out to hunt as mumriks would do -- basically, have the days where they just allow their natural instincts to take over. the joxter may have a better handle on it, but snufkin? 

boy, he’d be wanting to take down large prey at times lmao

what tv shows they watch together

i don’t think they’re the type to watch television. maybe it’d be turned on as background noise

what other couple they hang out with

uuuuuhhh no one :S

how they spend time together as a couple

usually just napping, fishing, or just taking their usual journey across the forest and region depending on the season at hand. while they aren’t the most active couple, they certainly aren’t ones that are to just hibernate for long periods of time

who made the first move

ooooh, that’s a good one. i’d say snufkin. mainly because while the joxter would give him a couple of teases, he never initiated the first move. never giving him kisses, hugs, or any touches that are to linger for more than a minute. it was infuriating

snufkin’s a patient one, but somehow, his father managed to push at the specific buttons to urge him on to bring the joxter down for a quick kiss

who brings flowers home

snufkin tends to do so, usually to make some flower crowns or to make their abode smelling nice :D 

who is the best cook

snufkin! the joxter tends to eat his meals raw and while he doesn’t mind it, snufkin would want a hearty homemade meal. it tends to remind him of the moomins, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he happens to pick up a recipe or two from moominmama!

[danieyells]

Because of you, tumblr keeps advertising ObeyMe! to me. I'm starting to crack under the pressure to play it 😔 Can you at least sum up what I'm gonna be getting myself into? How's the gameplay? I've never played this kind of game before

8D tbf it may have had been doing that regardless apparently people were seeing the ads when it first came out BUT. OKAY SUMMARY TIME.

So, Obey Me!, is not an otome game by traditional standards and, instead, simply follows a storyline with a good amount of romance in it. I believe it was first advertised(and its title in the play store originally referred to it as) an otome game and, instead, it now advertises itself properly as a story and card game.

Obey Me! follows your adventure in a place called The Devildom–essentially Hell, though I believe Hell is a separate part of it between itself and the Human World, I DIGRESS–where you’ve been brought as an exchange student to the Royal Academy of Diavolo, essentially a college for demons.

Mind, you had no awareness or say in this situation, but suck it up because you’re here for a year.

This is Diavolo! You can’t kiss him. Yet. I suspect we will eventually. But he’s basically why you’re here.

Story-wise your job is to develop an immunity to demonic influence and attend your classes(no, you don’t actually get to do so, though there are references to/talk of it) for a year stay in the Devildom. Afterwards, you’ll write a paper about your experience and you’ll be able to go home.

The exchange program is Diavolo’s attempt at starting peaceful and cooperative relations between the three worlds–The Human World, of which you are from, The Devildom, where Diavolo rules over all Demonkind, and the Celestial Realm, populated by angels and ruled over by who I like to call The Celestial Father, but most people just call god.

Don’t worry though! You won’t be thrown into the Devildom without help! After all, demons eat humans and their souls! You are overseen by Mammon, the Avatar of Greed, essentially your sidekick throughout the story. After Lucifer, his older brother and the Avatar of Pride, shoves you off onto the unwilling Mammon, you’re sent to the brothers’s home dorm, The House Of Lamentation, to get settled.

As you can tell by the names and ways I identify them, there are seven brothers and they’re all representative of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In order of oldest to youngest, we have Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride and Diavolo’s right hand man, Mammon, the Avatar of Greed and the one responsible for you here in the Devildom, Leviathan(or just Levi), the Avatar of Envy and a shut-in otaku, Satan, the Avatar of Wrath and the most normal-seeming one, Asmodeus,(or just Asmo) the Avatar of Lust and most charming of the seven(in a sense,) Beelzebub(or just Beel), the Avatar of Gluttony who is just as self-explanatory as Asmo, and Belphegor(everyone calls him Belphie), the Avatar of Sloth and the demon sent to the Human World in exchange for you. Suffice to say…you won’t see him much.

Oddly enough, before you woke up in the Devildom, you heard a boy’s voice begging you to help them. A demon trapped them–and you’re the only one they can rely on to save them, the voice said… .

HERE’S A READMORE BECAUSE IT GETS LONGER.

During your stay with the Seven Rulers of the Underworld(the aforementioned brothers,) you’ll get involved in their many chaotic family affairs, learning about them, making pacts with them, helping them, and romancing them along the way. Kinda.

The romance aspect has little effect on the game thus far aside from the phone calls you get every five intimacy levels. The more otome aspects are mostly in these calls, some of the texts you exchange, and in sidestories on Devilgram(the Devildom version of Instagram, obviously) you unlock by earning certain cards and raising intimacy scores. The main story does have a little bit of it(namely in the form of Mammon), but it mostly focuses on you making pacts with the brothers and helping them with their interfamilial issues and lives.

The story isn’t done and is likely not particularly near being done considering the game came out like two months ago and we get an update, thus far, once a month(but we’ve had a few events in between to keep ourselves entertained and busy with stories!)

NOW THEN ONTO GAMEPLAY… . If you’ve never played a gacha game before it’s basically a cashgrab whaletrap system where you randomly draw, in this case, cards for use in gameplay or collection. You get the best cards through premium pulls(i.e. paying real money but you actually earn the premium currency pretty easily in this game, not to mention you get one free pull of the two main paid gachas every…other day? I set mine so i get one every other day.) But you can get good cards through the regular currency pulls as well as actual gameplay.

You variously strengthen and level up the cards through battles(more below,) as well as drawing the same card multiple times(strengthens their ability), and through the Devil’s Tree, where you can also unlock more chats, calls, backgrounds and music for your home screen, and items. Using grimm(the regular currency) you can level up your cards quickly, and using grimm and items you get through gameplay and to-do “quests” you can advance spaces in a card’s Devil’s Tree and power them up as well. It’s pretty simple stuff!

So your gameplay is in the form of simple little dance battles in which you summon the demons you’ve pulled from Nightmare(the gacha system) to battle for you. They take care of most of it–all you have to do is collect hearts that pop up on the screen and tap on them when their meters are full to use charged attacks in essence. Very simple and pretty repetitive. There are special abilities in your(and the enemies’s) charged attacks that can add some difficulty beyond simple upscaling(namely if they have paralyze as an ability which makes things very inconvenient.)

These dance battles have a timer of 40 seconds and typically last about a minute tops. So things are pretty quick and easy as far as gameplay goes. You read the story, you make some choices(the story is linear and thus far doesn’t branch based on these decisions and you can also go back and redo the decisions as well as read chats and answer calls to redo decisions for new dialogue and sometimes intimacy points as well), you do some dance battles. That’s basically it.

:D JOBS is how you get money most easily as well as the occasional free affection items and affection boosts. All you have to do is send each of the brothers to work a job(they have favorite jobs as well as thus-far-mostly-secret combinations they can work in that you can watch secret conversations they have at their workplace in) and you’ll be notified when they’re done and you need to pick them up. If you do each job enough you’ll unlock another jobsite with greater profits(and more time between when you need to come get the little shits!)

Oh! But there’s a bit more I forgot to mention! Namely :D JOBS and Surprise Guests!

Surprise Guests come in two forms! The actual surprise kind which will pop up sometimes after a dance battle and the not-surprise kind which come up about twice a day on the home screen!

Oh, I forgot to mention the homescreen too. You can set one of the brothers to stay on the home screen and greet you when you go to it or open the app! The notifications are also voiced by them! If they have a little speech bubble over their head like so, you can engage them as Surprise Guests.

You can also poke them on the home screen and they’ll talk a little! Usually about the other brothers or that you’re touching them.

NOW THEN ONTO SURPRISE GUESTS. AKA THE FUN PART ASIDE FROM THE STORY ITSELF.

As I said, after each dance battle there’s a chance you’ll get a surprise guest–one of the three demons you used in the battle!

From here you can give them food, items, medicine, or whip them--they all have preferences of what they like to be given as well! You can buy these things on Akuzon–which is the Devildom equivalent of Amazon which they clearly only used to avoid copyright, given Amazon is evil already–using premium currency or additional currency called Ravens(which you get through Surprise Guests, collecting cards over 10 times, earn in to-do quests, or get from :D JOBS.)  However you can also get them for free from :D JOBS, to-do quests, and sometimes they’ll send them to players through the mail system.

Alongside material items, you can touch them to praise them for a job well done(or comfort them after a battle you didn’t do perfectly in.)  Demons love being pet apparently!

Do this well, and you’ll get an intimacy boost! The first 5~7 surprise guests you get three hearts for the day will give you gifts–either AP(stamina), grimm(standard currency), or ravens.

↓this should be animated. If it’s not. . .gdi.

You can also get them on the home screen and you get different, more affectionate/romantic dialogue when you do well on home screen affections. I believe these are also influenced by your intimacy score.

↓again, this should be a gif. . .not sure if moving atm 

You can tap or rub the screen, as well as shake your phone or hit ‘Ignore’ to get a response out of them as well as giving them snacks and items. (They mostly don’t seem to like the phone being shaken or being ignored but I’ve also gotten neutral reactions from both rather than negative ones.) You can interact with their head/hair, face, arms, or chest(i think their hand counts as their arm so in the cases of Lucifer and Satan who always have their hand on their chest, be careful lol.) You can do bad, neutrally, or good in the end. You never lose intimacy points so don’t worry too much if you wanna fuck with em and see their reactions lol you’ll have chances to redeem yourself.

I THINK THAT’S IT. 8D i say give it a try if only for the fun characters or the story, and if you don’t like then nbd, right? 'u’ come to hell with ussss

[lametooru]

tag games! 

im always so slow to do these so heres a bunch of them bc they are super fun to do and i love learning things about my mutuals , thanks to everyone who’s tagged me ❤

20 Qs Tag

tagged by @hwangsrenjun 

rules: answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers you want to get to know better

name: kingkanoke

nicknames: tan

height: 5′5

orientation: het

nationality: british/thai

favorite season: autumn !!!! 

favorite flower: forget-me-nots they’re so pretty 

favorite scent: fresh laundry soOOSOO good

favorite color/s: like any shade of blue 

favorite animal: cheetahs and dolphins 

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: ice coffee + tea

average sleep hours: i used to be able to run on 5/6 hrs but apparently now i need like 7/8

dog or cat person: love both but if i had to choose ... doggies

favorite fictional character(s): literally so fucking many but rn im brainwashed by marvel so : thor, peter, steve my BEST boys 

number of blankets you sleep with: 1

dream trip: korea, jpn, cali, nyc, greece, italy, bali, new zealand, australia lmao like everywhere

blog created: 2012 im a veteran on here kiddos ive seen the rise and falls of whole civilisations 

number of followers: more than i thought i would get tbf

random fact: i would chose death over eating celery like honestly even the smell alone idk it really urks me 

get to know me ok

Rules: Answer 30 questions and then tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better

Tagged by:@kkimingyu

nicknames: tan

gender: female

zodiac: pisces !!! wheres all my emo fish people at c;

height: 5′4/5 like im in between there 

age: 19 ohymgod im so old im not even gunna be a teen anymore next yr thats goss :(

time: 10:04pm

favorite bands/artists: hmmm im gunna answer outside kpop ... i listen to panic! at the disco, fall out boy, rihanna, britney spears lmao im so basic i know aksjhfasl i also have a lot of misc songs that i really like so my music taste is just all over the place

song stuck in my head: its legit just the the theme from parks and recs bc im watching it rn 

last movie I saw: it was literally black butler book of murder lmafooooooooo ffs can my weeb ass tone it down pls

last thing I googled: ‘why am i sneezing so much’ 

other blogs: @fyvoltronld (100% vld stuff) and my newly made art blog @tnkisu

do I get asks: i used to get quite a lot of requests when i was an anime blog lool

why I chose my username: bc mingyu is uwu :3

following: 210

the average amount of sleep: 7 ish

lucky no: 3 bc i was born on 3rd march 

what am I wearing: grey joggers and over sized tee lol see me at the next fashion week pls

dream job: illustrator / graphic designer in the entertainment industry somwhere

dream trip: okaay lol here we go: italy esp positano!!, california, nyc, hawaii, new zealand, japan, korea, hong kong, canada dream big i guess

favorite food: literally craving roast duck n rice so much rn also ice cream if that counts! and noodles mmMMMMmmmm

instruments: i used to play the trumpet but i quit when i was like 13

sports: i played volleyball for almost 2 yrs but stopped bc uni and i used to cycle loads too (and yes its bc of anime lmao whats new)

hair color: dark brown, blackish like ur normal asian hair

eye color: matches my hair im so boring oof

most iconic song: um if u seek amy by miss britney spears? she didnt have to snap that hard

languages: english and like 40% of thai lol im losing it all 

random fact: i LOVE dressing gowns if im not outside im probably wearing one, even in the summer theyre just so comfy i own 3

describe urself as aesthetic things ! : the buzz of a busy restaurant, 3am talks with your friends, going into the city at night and being surrounded by lights, the warmth of the sun hitting your skin, your favourite people smiling at you, reading a book on a cloudy day, that one annoying itch you can’t quite seem to scratch 

˗ˏˋ 11 question tag ˊˎ˗

thank you for tagging me @jisoostar & @gyuofficial

rules: tag some people you would like to get to know better.

how much sleep did you get last night? don’t lie to me.

9 i think.. its the summer holidays so i sleep for a looooooong time

do you use any lip balm or lip tint? what are you using?

lip balm all the way aint no time for ashy lips lol i use the cherry carmex lip balm  

tell me about your guilty pleasure!

hmm maybe those slice of life animes that r just over the top, a bit dumb and funny with no serious plot lines or anything 

what’s your favorite subject at school and why?

art bc i was shit at everything else ahaha....

pick 5 idols to be your classmates!

oKAy : kevin (the boyz), key (shinee), hoshi (svt) , mingyu (svt), hyungwon (monsta x) 

experience the hunger games or the purge?

the purge bc i live in the most eventual village in england  

tell me your favorite food without saying what it is. describe it.

mmmmmm....a meat from an animal with wings paired with white grains from a plant and a hot liquid on the side (this makes it sound gross aslfjaslkf)

what language do you have an interest in learning?

spanish, mandarin, korean, italian too mayb

you found a magic lamp and the genie will grant you three wishes. what do you have in mind? please, don’t ask for more wishes.

the ability to draw whatever i wanted to the way i envisioned it in my head (correct proportions, depth of view, shadows vs highlights etc) 

to be able to be fluent in all languages i wanted including reading & writing

have flawless skin for the rest of my life 

pick three of your favorite cuisines!

not being biased but thai is my number 1 lolololol

japanese 

chinese esp dim sum 

hey, the last question is a PSA. you’re precious and i love you. reply with: “i’m precious and i love me too”.

getting on my last uwus smh :(  thank u, im precious and i love me too ~

tagging: @kkimingyu @cafewoozi  @jeongahn @wonhuis  @himeaegyo @jeong-hanie​ @jisoostar​ @bbymarklee @ilxu (feel free to do them all, one or non ^^) 

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 10/05 NXT 10/07 NXT UK 10/08 Smackdown 10/09 + Main Event 10/08

Raw:

“This Asuka reign has been spectacular thus far,” d e b a t a b l e

Is Asuka continuing her feud with Zelina? If so, why? If not, why is this 6 woman match happening? Just spinning your wheels some more?

It’s been an interesting experience watching Dana grow throughout the years. Also nice flip by Nattie off of Dana’s headscissors takedown.

Love to see Dana and Mandy matching colors. Tag teams matching gear is my jam. Next is a theme song/name.

Lovely delayed double suplex by Dandy.

Small mistake in Mandy nearly falling over, but I mostly want to compliment the slide her boots did against the mat lmao. That was probably unintended, but looked super smooth.

I actually like Mandy now that she’s not imitating a stripper, but I’d really appreciate it if she could learn new trash talk that isn’t just, “who do you think you are,” repeated ad nauseam.

I don’t watch Main Event, but they should consider having Mandy and Dana wrestle more on there if they don’t already. Those are 2 that can use the consistent practice.

There’s so many minor things Natalya does to keep matches together with greener women. She deserves more respect.

Man these women work incredibly well together. Asuka, Nattie, Dana, Lana, Mandy... so cohesive. Loved that entire ending sequence from the moment Lana and Asuka tagged in. Lana has really increased her speed as well.

I am here to dole out positive praise for the blondes that nobody gives any credit to. Remembering where Dana was in 2016, Lana was in 2017, or even Mandy was in 2018, and seeing them all now? They get my applause. The midcard on Raw is entertaining, sue me. Fun match.

pppfffftttttt love how Zelina just slowly slinks outta the ring like, “yeahhhh have fun with that, this ain’t my fight peace.”

Alright ngl, I am now starting to get sad that Lana is getting rekt nearly every week. rip. First match of the night btw and the commentators are losing their desk lmao.

Does KO have to spell out everything happening in wrestling? Sir I actually pay attention to the stories y’all be telling me. Can I get a condensed version?

“He’s everywhere,” Alexa is creepy and compelling, I’m gonna keep singing her praises til she gives me a reason not to.

I personally just hope Fiend uses new gloves for every new victim, what with covid and all.

“Bury a body together in the woods,” SIR.

I like that Alexa is kept separate from Bray and is solely attached to Fiend. I know that’s going to change, but for now, I like that line being drawn in the sand.

Omg he shed tears. Whew.

Why y’all allergic to showcasing Bianca against people who I fucking recognize lmao.

Again, I know she’s a college graduate. I know she’s smart on some fucking level. Telling me why the sky is blue (cept not really as it just appears that way) AIN’T IT THOUGH.

Put her in a match, that’s where she needs the most work. Jesus.

Oh good we get to hear Nia’s music on the way to the ring. She has the superior theme.

Nia body checking Ruby in the corner. I felt that.

I like Shayna’s joint manipulation, I only wish she’d wear down her opponents before she started in on it, cuz it drastically slows down the pacing of the match. There’s a spot for it if you get the momentum of the match going first, but she almost always just jumps straight into this. 

Ruby getting rekt. What Riott Squad need is a good showing. Not to be damn near demolished. I doubt anyone actually expected them to win this match, but come on.

At least Shayna sold the tornado ddt well.

Meh could’ve been a better showing for RS. Kind of disappointing. Liv didn’t even use any offense to break the Kirifuda Clutch, just yelled dramatically af. Tears galore.

Highlight: Seeing Lana/Mandy/Dana improve & work cohesively with veterans in Nattie & Asuka

---

NXT:

Isn’t nxt supposed to be the brand that hides a performer’s weakness? Why does Ember Moon have a mic in the middle of the ring? Have her do a quick interview in the back, or better yet wrestle. Hello??

Don’t thank them, they are your coworkers, and only one of them even said welcome back. sigh.

GIRL I’M SHOCKED THEY LET YOU TALK ON THE MIC TOO like for what reason???

This is why Ember Moon will never be a champion on the main roster jfc. At least she can get away with being nxt champ if she refrains from speaking.

Well damn I was actually interested in Rhea’s promo, thanks a lot Raquel smh.

Io’s like “...nah, I’m good right here.”

Io is a woman of few words, but they are always flawlessly spoken and drenched in logic. Still a huge fan of her as champion.

Storytime. Becky Lynch has named 2 people as potential break out stars that could reach (close to) the heights she has reached. Sonya Deville was one, whom I believe Becky was right on the money with, and Toni Storm was the other. Now I don’t see whatever the hell Becky sees in Toni, but damn it if she was right about Sonya, I want her to be right about Toni as well. So I hope this heel turn actually brings the fire, decent acting, and passable promos from her.

Toni has a swagger you can’t teach; she has an aura and confidence to her. There are just some pieces that have been missing. We’ll see though, I’ll give her a clean slate to win me over.

*The Garganos receive a gift* No.

I kind of like that there’s an unspoken agreement between Raquel and Dakota that Dakota is the star who should win the title, with no lingering feelings of animosity or resentment between them.

Anyway Dakota you lost to Io, plz lol.

*The Garganos see potential in Indi Hartwell* No.

I hate Shotzi’s entrance and dialogue so damn much lmao. She’s so annoying, I’m not sorry. I’ll give her props in the ring where I see fit, but her personality is such a turn off to me.

Such a short match that I have nothing to say about it. Good for Shotzi gaining some momentum. Still waiting to see where Xia Li goes with these losses amounting.

Cool one of the best themes has been changed :/ rip Ember’s og theme.

Sloppy, sloppy attempt at a standing crucifix by Ember. oof.

Ember is short but she can sure jump high, this is true.

Ember plz sell.

Jeeze I nearly forgot how good Ember’s suicide dive is. One of the best, truly.

Great bump onto the floor by Rhea.

Flat landing by Dakota. Bravo. Love how Dakota bumps Rhea’s bench press.

No excuse for Dakota not tagging in when Ember got the tag. Awkward.

Looked more like a modified flatliner rather than a uranage, but sure. 

Love watching Dakota and Rhea work together. They have great chemistry.

LOVE Dakota’s Kairopractor. One of my favorite moves in nxt.

Great save by Raquel, great ddt taken by Raquel.

Sloppy “powerbomb” from Ember to Dakota... that’s a yikes. Ember indeed has ring rust. Eclipse is still a thing of beauty though, so there’s that.

I just want to say, I really like Rhea as a babyface and I hope wwe doesn’t turn her heel when she moves to the MR.

Highlight: Dakota & Rhea working together is always a treat

---

NXT UK:

Tell me why the beginning of Dani’s theme reminded me of White Wedding by Billy Joel? The lack of lighting in her entrance does her song a disservice.

Really like Nina’s theme... irritating how they cut off Amale’s theme so quickly to introduce her, though.

HAHA Xia tried kipping up out of the leg scissors and she got popped on the midsection.

Lovely escape...? Alright well, fill the dead air with meaningless comments I guess. No, don’t pipe in applause for that.

Twisting her arms in reverse and then forward accomplished nothing.

I appreciate Dani’s underrated strength.

Decent reverse suplex by Nina.

Deadweight suplex by Dani. Nice.

Amale is... abysmally green.

Took a beautiful German suplex, though.

Do not like Xia’s finisher.

This match wasn’t a mistake, but man talk about lower card.

Much like I did with Toni Storm, all I see when I look at Piper now, is when she cried during the match with KLR lmao. Round of applause for KLR making all of her opponents cry kekekek.

“[KLR] better watch what she says, or else..” or else what? More of y’all gonna cry in her direction? oof your champ is HEAD AND SHOULDERS above everyone else on that roster, plz.

Sure she’s held the title for a year cuz of the pandemic, but if we remove all of that time UK spent isolated, she should still hold that title for a year minimum. Whenever someone wants to exhibit possessing the full package she has, they can step up. Even on the mic, KLR is untouchable.

Lol y’all can waltz out pissy all you want. I laugh.

“We've got witches that can't cast spells, Valkyries that can't fly, and these two can't even get along long enough to challenge me. And here she is, the worst of them all, the ultimate letdown... a piper that plays to my tune.” LMFAOOO. This is such a good promo, I can’t.

Knowing NXT, they’ll throw them in a battle royal to decide Kay Lee’s next opponent. Should run a tournament though.

KLR makes that title prestigious, goodbye.

Highlight: Fantastic KLR promo

---

Smackdown:

Alright real talk, why did Sasha get a title shot here? Why would Bayley give it to her without a struggle when she damn well knows Sasha could easily be the one to take it from her? When was it even accepted by Bayley?

Tbh I kind of hate this feud unless they’re in the same room/arena together. They work magic together, truly, but all of the inbetween stuff was garbage.

Love how Sasha just wants to beat the crap out of Bayley. Solid stuff.

Lol Bayley goes to leave lololol.

These are some clean counters and roll throughs. Always give props to Sasha for her counters.

See, cool, Sasha and Becky’s hiac match was set up with a chair, too... cept they had a great match for 15 mins and then brawled all over the arena. This could’ve all been set up SO much better. Then again tbf, it doesn’t even make sense for Bayley to accept this match with her to begin with, so I get the intentional dq as quickly as possibly on Bayley’s behalf. Would’ve been better if a gm had set this match up instead.

Great acting by Sasha.

How long til KO just pops Bliss across the face? No I’m kidding, wwe would never do that. Setting fire to someone, on the other hand...

Nothing about this promo felt genuine to me; the delivery was subpar.

When does Alexa receive an upgrade from ‘supportive mistress’ to ‘queen that helps fuck up Fiend’s victims’? I do appreciate them taking their time with her arc, it’s rare to see them do such a slow burn and not drop the ball with it.

Highlight: Sasha’s aggression in the ring

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

The sheer hatred I have for Peyton’s theme. Awful.

Peyton vs Billie matches reminds me of the type of stuff I used to skip back in the late 2000s.

You watch best friends Sasha/Bayley, and you see some innovative, impactful moves. You watch best friends Becky/Charlotte, and you see 2 people beating the absolute shit out of each other with vitriol. You watch best friends Billie/Peyton, and you see 2 people who are afraid of hurting one another :/

Nice roll through pin by Billie.

Positive: there’s no crowd to boo them.

Just noticed the bottom row of monitors are behind the barricade, and I just want to know why tf they exist lmao.

Oh perfect, the second I began to regret turning this on, it ended. Okay anyway.

---

*NXT shined the brightest. Love how they utilized their women’s division, even if some of it was a hit or miss. Also love seeing Dakota and Rhea work together.

[comicteaparty]

March 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on March 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Daemon by Akreampuff.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Daemon by Akreampuff~! (http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

my favorite scene is probably the one where billie transforms. this is largely due to it overcoming my expectations, cause a lot of transformation sequences are graceful or maybe even silly. even when demons are involved whether the demons be bad or good. this one though? this one looks terrifying to go through and i love. its such a cool illustrated scene too between the transitional effects and other sorts of kind of magical effects going around. http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/comics/2477610/page-25/

another scene i really enjoyed was the boat scene, specifically when the banter picks up. i appreciate that billie is not willing to trust zeke, but i also like how chill zeke is. i think it really shows off zeke's character in particular since it seems pretty clear hes empathizing with the situation.

mathtans

Made it. I was gonna ask if you meant the transformation forwards or back, so I'm glad you put in the reference. Neither seem all that fun.

I rather liked when the door blew out due to the fire, sending Billie out into the tree. And I mean "like" as in it got to me, not "oh, that looks fun".

The boat and banter was kinda cool. I mostly liked it for the way it could slip in exposition elements in an entertaining way.

RebelVampire

billie getting blown out of the house was a pretty said moment. although i did like this one page where its just debris and her hand http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/comics/2477607/page-22/ maybe im just a sucker for glass debris, but i really loved how it kind of slowed the moment so you could take in what just happened and then the next page really shows that hit and land(edited)

that is also true about the boat scene. the banter was a good balance to keep the exposition entertaining

mathtans

Right, that's the page just after the one I was thinking of. But that was good too, I kind of pictured her as reaching for her mum but being blown back through the window.

I feel so bad for the mum. I think she was in it just enough to create some empathy. Part of me wonders if Dad came back and accidentally started the fire.

RebelVampire

now that would just be tragic. dad sneezes and whoops, suddenly fire

although

tbf

we never see a dead body

maybe the mom is alive

and she started the fire!

mathtans

It's true. I wonder if maybe mum is alive but could even be kidnapped or something... um, or that? She smoke, maybe? ^.^

Fire could also have been started by that other watcher, the one working with Zeke but that Zeke said he couldn't find. Maybe he went rogue.

RebelVampire

that could be. i mean right now just being disappeared kind of makes them the prime suspect

but yeah if theres one thing stories have taught

its never believe someone is dead until you see both their dead body and ghost

so i consider it highly possible the mom wasnt in the fire

doesnt even have to have been kidnapped. maybe she was at the late night store getting milk

mathtans

I wonder if ghosts exist. We only know vampires don't (which was kind of funny as stated).

Everyone probably thinks Billie died in the fire either way.

RebelVampire

yeah im really curious how she expects to just go back. cause shes been gone long enough that someone probably noticed the fire and investigated and made assumptions. or for one of the supposed victims to turn up out of the blue is the height of suspicion

it screams murder or for the insurance money

mathtans

People already didn't seem to like her, so this won't help either. Poor kid.

RebelVampire

yeah tbf i also dont get why she wants to go back

she didnt have any friends

and i didnt get the feeling she had some sort of extended family either

which i mean maybe she hasnt considered it cause shes in shock and being grumpy

QUESTION 2. Overall, it’s very obvious Billie has a lot on her plate regarding her newfound demonic lineage. Emotionally, how do you think Billie will come to deal with her situation, both in regards to her heritage and her mother being dead? How long do you think it’ll take her to adjust (if ever)? Do you feel Billie will endeavor to learn to control her newfound powers after Zeke shows her some more? Or, do you feel Billie will return “home” and try to pretend everything is normal at first? Assuming Billie learns at some point, what sorts of things do you think she’ll learn power wise? Speaking of home, what do you think Billie is going to do in regards to that? Overall, how do you see Billie just dealing with the new situation in general?

mathtans

Could just be a fear of the unknown. And she had that one blonde friend. Kinda.

I feel like one of the things Billie will ask eventually is where's Dad hanging out. I'm not sure if that will help her adjust but I think it'll help her sort some things out.

RebelVampire

yeah im surprised insofar shes not the least bit curious about her dad. especially cause her dad must be well known since those medical daemons knew of him.

enough to even say like father like daughter basically

i feel like for a while, billie might emotionally not deal with. like especially if she stays in the caves, its a lot easier to put the events out of mind. or more i mean she might deal with the demon elements and come to accept that, but i think theres other things shell avoid and not hit her till later

like the fact she has no house

mathtans

I mean, she thought her dad was just some guy, there's still the need to adjust to that.

Also might not immediately want to meet the guy who's supposedly part of this hybrid breeding program.

Yeah. I wonder if the caves are fireproof. Feels like she might have fire issues later.

RebelVampire

actually if her powers wind up being fire related, that has huge implications she started it. and i would hate to be her in the moment she realizes she caused it.

mathtans

Oooh. Like, unconsciously? That would suck. Unless someone watching her decided to start it to make her think she started it.

RebelVampire

that would be devious

but not impossible

especially if powers are somewhat inherited and her dad is the big fire guy or something

maybe what will inspire billie to meet her dad is anger. like in the sense she needs someone to lash out, and hes the secret demon father who made her and gave her demon blood and sort of got her into the situation.

mathtans

Maybe the police will investigate and she can get a report to figure out how it all started. She might not be related to fire though, maybe she has powers of just making people uncomfortable, like she did to her classmates.

Maybe. Or maybe she meets him as a trainer and doesn't realize who he is until later.

RebelVampire

actually thatd be a really interesting way to have him introduced

have him just there upfront the whole time

and then surprise

ya know, i hope the uncomfortable thing is her powers and not just her heritage in general.

cause if all daemons make ppl uncomfortable, theres a huge question of why

cause that stands in contrast to the nicer image zeke wanted to paint of them

mathtans

I'd say Satan was her father except I'm pretty sure Satan's a lady. Either that or the cliffhanger is that there's a librarian.

RebelVampire

somewhat off topic, but i really liked that one page on the boat that was all blue and white while zeke was talking about the daemons actually being good. the palette really made them see ethereal, but i like the contrast of how real colors make them look. like without that blue colored glass as it were, its kind of easy to see why someone would hmm if theyre good or bad.

yeah i kind of get the impression satan is that lady too

cause zeke did purposefully not use pronouns that i noticed

mathtans

Zeke may have his own rose coloured glasses too, mind.

Oh, that's cool. I'm not always good at picking up on art stuff.

I did have a look at the link to the time lapse video on the colouring of one of the pages... interesting how it was flipped horizontally at a couple points, I've never thought of doing that.

Actually, lots of the bonus stuff is pretty fun. Like Zeke's alternate magical transformation, or the 100th page breaking the 4th wall.

Maybe Satan is also the librarian.

RebelVampire

well zeke did say satan is just a title

so satan is the job title given to their librarians

i really loved that bonus page with zeke's alternate magical transformation

it was a good, silly addition in some serious moments

QUESTION 3. Vaguely, Zeke mentions that the hybrids were created because daemons needed something from humans. What do you think this thing daemons need is? Will Billie like the answer when she finds out, or is it going to be something that horrifies her? Why are the daemons so desperate they’d even create a breeding program to get it? The comic also talks a bit about the history of daemons. What do you think was said and done in the past to create such a negative view of daemons? What was even the purpose of making them so hated? Also, who was even the main perpetrator of these distortions? Ultimately, how do you believe both the history and the creation of hybrids will play into the story and the daemons’ goals?

mathtans

Interesting, I guess part of me just thought what they needed was love and attention. But maybe there's something in the genes.

As to the negative view, probably propaganda by cults. Maybe a jilted ex-lover.

RebelVampire

maybe it is love. i mean i dont consider it impossible. though i also would be concerned why daemons cant produce love naturally cause that has horrible implications

maybe humans are better magical conduits or something

idk why thatd be

but its the only thing i can think of

or maybe daemons have longer or immortal lifespans and they need some good ol' mortality

or

since the comic description mentions theres gonna be fighting angels

maybe only humans can fight angels

but they made hybrids cause plain ol' humans are too weak

but speaking of angels, i assume the propaganda was theres. which i mean, if all daemons make ppl uncomfortable, it was probably easy to manipulate the world that way

cause of course youd assume ppl who make you uncomfy were evil

although

if i go with humans kill angels thing, it makes sense why theyd do it. cause if humans dont like daemons anymore, there will be no alliance

mathtans

(Sorry, back) Yeah, it's weird unless they need a surplus or something... oh, right, magic. Hum, that's an idea.

Maybe a daemon can only be killed by a hybrid or something. They need one to go on a quest. Or the angel fight's a good one too.

Maybe the daemons have signed something like that they won't do stuff to angels, and so their hands are tied now that some angels have gone rogue. I wonder if there's half angels too.

Oooh. Maybe only hybrids can breed with angels?

RebelVampire

that could be.

i never considered thered be hybrid angels

if there are i feel doubly bad for humans

no matter what are the puppets

mathtans

Instead of horns and tails they grow wings. Very inconvenient as far as shirts go.

I wonder if there's some actual humans who can do magic, or only hybrids.

Also, their program can't be too successful if they've only managed under 10 in something like 20+ years.

RebelVampire

i got more the impression was that they wanted to start small

which either suggests 1) they really dont know much about the risks or what the consequences are so made a small sample size or 2) theyre afraid of there being too many hybrids

mathtans

Hmm, I suppose that could be too. Though seemingly they weren't sure if anything would even manifest, so maybe their sample was larger than we give credit for.

RebelVampire

im really curious if the blond friend is a hybrid somehow. especially since she didnt mind billie at all

mathtans

I wondered about that, but with so few of them, it'd be a bit of a coincidence.(edited)

Unless they're all from the same region on Earth or something, I guess. (Maybe she's an angel?)

It'd cut against the grain, an angel who likes to skip class and show up late and stuff.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Besides the history of daemons, there are a few other mysteries floating about. Who do you think burnt down Billie’s house and for what goal? Was Zeke really not involved? Could it have been another daemon? How do you think Billie’s mother even ended up with a daemon? Did Billie’s mother really not know he was a daemon? Alternatively, if she knew, why didn’t she tell Billie? Do you think Billie will get to meet her father? If so, how do you foresee that going? Additionally, how do you think it will go when Billie meets the other hybrids? Will she find newfound friends, or is she doomed to be alone? In general, what future events do you see happening in the comic?

they could be from the same region. maybe theres something in the water. but tbh it could just be a coincidence. i dont see why not.

mathtans

Maybe the shocking twist is, Billie's mom was actually an angel! And nobody knew!

I'm kinda curious to see the other hybrids. The author must have kinda figured them out, they were shown in silhouette early on.

Iris

just wanted to quickly say that this seems like a super cool chat, I'm really hoping that I'll be less busy during the next one and be able to get more involved ;o;

mathtans

Heya Iris. We all have our busy times, early March chewed me up.

RebelVampire

hoping it works out too! we'd definitely love to have you, @Iris ~!

yeah i really want to see the hybrids too

but mostly cause new charas

to see billie interact with

Iris

ty! gonna check what next week's comic is

RebelVampire

and have fun

mathtans

I'm curious about the designs, since they all look different. Which is a real interesting way to go on that. (Also, seems Billie lucked out in terms of her armour.)

RebelVampire

@Iris its kamikaze https://kamikazeanimated.com/comic/

yeah im kind of for the theory billie's mom was an angel just cause it seems convenient she got such nice armour

Iris

thanks!!

RebelVampire

i really hope we get to learn how billie's mother ended up with a daemon. cause im really banking on the fact that she probably knew.

cause the lie she told billie seems sort of vague and convenient(edited)

mathtans

I hadn't considered that. (Tinder?)

Iris

(demon tinder. cinder)

mathtans

"There's finally dating apps. Project hybrid is a go."

RebelVampire

appropriate name given the fire themes XD

plot twist: daemons invented dating apps

Iris

makes sense

mathtans

Heh. Maybe they've got a tech area.

So, Billie and Zeke... do we ship them? The conversational bits about being a cat make me think yes. But of course, I prefer to ship Billie with the BadGirl (tm), because of how I prefer yuri.

RebelVampire

idk if i ship billie and zeke yet. im not sure i trust zeke. not cause i think hes up to something, but he seems creepily loyal to the daemons to the point i wouldnt trust him to have unbiased decision making

mathtans

Billie hasn't totally trusted him for that reason though, so I feel like the lampshading makes it possible. Though if he's meant to be her mentor/trainer, maybe not.

Kinda related, maybe Billie will want to stay just because everyone around now won't have that bad vibe she gave to the other students.

Also, there's books.

RebelVampire

yeah i did kind of feel that will be a motivating factor

that now she has a chance to make friends

and not be alone

and i kind of feel that fact will make her stay for a bit "just to see what its all about"

and then shell come ot feel they are family like zeke said

but im also curious how the hybrids in general are treated in the society

cause i do worry theyre getting the useful tool treatment

mathtans

You need to make sure they're plugged in at night. Or they lose their charge.

(Billie's lucky, she doesn't have a tail, so doesn't need to charge up. Zeke, on the other hand...)

RebelVampire

billie is one of the fancy wireless ones you just put on the stand

mathtans

She's her own action figure.

Seriously though, yeah, I wonder if all of them are as chill about things as Zeke. Also, I wonder if anyone else is being monitored out there.

RebelVampire

yeah thatd be an interesting situation for billie to be in

having to monitor some other hybrid

which emotionally i dont feel will go over well for her

mathtans

Maybe she'll have to monitor BadGirl with the ponytail. And I get my ship.

I wonder if any of the other short forms for Satan will get used. ("Actually, my name's Stan. Someone added another 'a'.")

RebelVampire

maybe.

mathtans

Well, all the best to Billie then. Hope her next transformation goes smoother. (Oh, I also liked the whole "and then she died" gag, heh.)

RebelVampire

although now im wondering if satan is actually an angel or if this comic split lucifer and satan

mathtans

Ooh, that's a good question too.

RebelVampire

i guess well find out eventually tho. darn angel propaganda

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Akreampuff, as well, for making Daemon. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Akreampuff’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/

Akreampuff’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AkreampuffArt

Akreampuff’s Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/AkreampuffArt

Akreampuff’s Twitter https://twitter.com/Akreampuff

[comicteaparty]

June 7th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on June 7th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on The Pale by Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing The Pale by Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares~! (https://tapas.io/series/The-Pale) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

snuffysam

I won’t be able to be around much this week, but I’ll just say that I loved the speed dating scene. Really set up Fink’s personality, skill, and face blindness well.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah the speed dating scene was pretty interesting. i really like in general how the face blindness is portrayed with the comical same faces. like something about that makes face blindness both understandable but subtly horrifying

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'll echo that. I liked when the different art style on the faces was revealed to be character related.

Also, Fink was all "this is not how I expected her to react... smokebomb!" vanishes

And he's had bad luck ever since.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hi there!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbh i did not expect his speed date partner to react that way either XD

hey super

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Hello!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hey there Jay!

Great to see ya~(edited)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha likewise

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotta expect the unexpected.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hi artist/author/writer (one or all of the preceding...)!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

glad you could make it jay~!

Agent Jay (The Pale)

I'm the artist and Co writer

totally! glad to see y'all like the speed dating part

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Very clever way to set up characters, don't think I've seen it before.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

when I read my husbands first draft of that scene-- I was all smiles

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's nice~

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I also kind of liked the knife throwing scene. I knew pretty much what was going to happen when I saw Fink out front, but it was still entertaining and set the tone of their interactions going forwards.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You two make for a good team, I enjoy how realistic (for the most part) and lifelike the comic is.(edited)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

yeah, the knife scene was fun. The ending went through a lot of changes.

and thanks Super!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You're welcome.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Aiming for a different balloon? I noticed some of those slogans... speaking as someone over 40...

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really liked how the knife scene kind of characterized the town. only in a small town would it not be considered a safety hazard to just throw knives at the wall

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Impressive background detail, actually. I caught myself trying to read the chalkboard in the sherriff's office right off the start.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

And yeah the backgrounds have lots and I do mean lots of details(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

the comic is awesome - I still love the wolf with the hand as a great intro and tone setter

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Anything to help make it pop.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha, I'm 36. the ending was hard bc we didnt know who was going to say the last line for the longest time it was Fink.... but then suddenly we had the idea for Joseph Yazzie (Logan's friend) say something. and it worked out well we think.

little title drop-- sorta there--

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Right, yeah, well played there. Other ideas paled in comparison.

dylandrawsdraws

Am i allowed to ask questions?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ah coyote scene you mean!

dylandrawsdraws

(yeah coyote!)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Right, the wolf and the hand bit. Effectively creepy.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

#PraiseCoyote

dylandrawsdraws

I think @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑 will always think it's a wolf

#teamwolf

Agent Jay (The Pale)

... so funny.

And um, I guess you can ask Q's

dylandrawsdraws

Can you tell us about your process

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Call the wolf Virginia. To go with Dawn Knotts.

dylandrawsdraws

script and thumbnails, etc - the collaboration between you and this mysterious writer you work with

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(That was a clever name, by the way. I didn't catch on.)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

really? SHAME

Agent Jay (The Pale)

1. We start with a general outline of what we want to see happen 2. eventually that goes down to what is really needed and my husband Sanders writes a 1st draft 3. I then read the draft and make changes-- rewrite scenes, take away, change dialog 4. we argue 5. and repeat till we are happy with it! 6. I start rough layouts/lettering/edit some more 7. (see step 4) 8. eventually everything falls into place and then we have a final edit pass 9. BOOM done.(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

oh very cool

sounds like a mini pixar

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's nice.

Cool seeing what goes on behind the scenes

Agent Jay (The Pale)

and @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑 Dawn Knotts was the only character that didnt go a name changes.

even Fink was Franklin INKS

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh? Were they all puns originally?

Ahhh.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

sorta... Logan originally was Sam Addams

then it went to Scott Logan (xmen joke)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, it's an interesting name juxtaposition there. F. Ink. Whereas some people might call FBI types using slang.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

now it's Terrence Logan. I took the Terrence from a discarded character-- I loved the name too much to waste it.(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ah yes always a good use of discarded characters. when in doubt steal their stuff O_O

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha-- right?!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I gather that the story takes place in... New Mexico? Texas? Nevada? That area...

Agent Jay (The Pale)

It's a made up town south of the Navajo Reservation, so it is Arizona (I hope I'm not derailing your chat)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotcha. My US geography is poor. (Well, my geography in general is poor.)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

between Flagstaff and north of Winslow...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The bit of Navajo on the radio was clever.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

how much research did you put into the location out of curiosity?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Eh, we just chat about whatever anyway. Rebel will have a random question again in about 5 minutes.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i mean generalized location since its a made up town

Agent Jay (The Pale)

We spent a lot of time considering where the location would be in real terms

The inspiration of the town is a mix of our experiences of small towns in Arizona and on the Navajo Rez. But also-- bc we like small towns

I based the town layout off of Holbrook Arizona more or less.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Holy cats. That's impressive.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I think the small town atmosphere is well captured. The deputy who hangs around the game instead of being on radio and all.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Dewey! haha yes... I love him.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually they've got a pretty large police force.

Relatively speaking.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

there's 4 with badges and luca at the station, Logan, Dewey, Russ and Dawn

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf to dewey it seemed like the whole town was at the game so like...who is actually gonna call

QUESTION 2. Not long after the mysterious body is found in the story, Agent Fink enters the scene and gets involved “off the books.” However, his motivations remain elusive. Why do you think Agent Fink is so intent on everything staying off the record? Is it personal or is this a professional risk? What do you think is the significance of the rock found with the body, and why does Agent Fink seemingly have more rocks? Do you think this mystery has something to do with Isaac? If so, how does Isaac factor in to both the mystery and Fink’s motivations? Lastly, what do you make of the dreams Fink has been having?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha, I guess this is when I don't talk... heh

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'd lay dollars to donuts that it relates somehow to those dreams. And presumably to the dreams that the woman in the tapestry place had been having too.

(It being his involvement.)

The rocks, of course, is all a red herring. Fink just likes collecting rocks along with bird watching.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

he should pick better rocks to collect then

invest in geodes

and he can expand his horizons. go get some petrified wood since hes in az

snuffysam

He just showed up to get his hands on that rock

wishjacked

AHHH, good evening, guys!! I've been looking forward to this chat for a while, I'm glad I could make it (albeit late)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or just scare a bunch of normal wood...

Fink has plans to become a rock musician.

snuffysam

I don’t think that’s how they get petrified wood math

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

No?

dylandrawsdraws

can I ask about character design and how you do the settings and prep work

for settings?

snuffysam

It’s his DREAM to become a rock musician

That’s what the dreams mean!

wishjacked

Catching up: I love so very many of the scenes, but the one that really hooked me was the coyote scene-- such a classic, beautifully executed mystery setup. And I loooved all that wildlife

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

as someone who lives in az, no i confirm. thats how we get our petrified wood.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That was Fink's drummer showing up at the end of Part 3.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

sure Dylan! which character do you wanna know about?

(and HI CHLOE)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

More seriously, birds are definitely going to factor in too, methinks.

wishjacked

Still catching up: One thing I think really works with the comic is the balance between quiet, slow images and faster moving dialogue: I love when the comic slows down to linger on images. One part that I kinda liked for that reason was with Yazzie visiting Nathaniel's house and looking at the rug on the wall, the lingering look at the rug really slowed the scene in the best way. Also when Fink is wandering through empty Rocket Ridge. Such a good way to build tension, improve pacing, and draw attention to the art. So good

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hey there Wish

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Related, I liked the bit in the plane where the pilot was all "I have binoculars somewhere" and Fink's like "I'm good". There's lots of little fun things in the comic too.

wishjacked

(and HI JAY!!! :D)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

y'all might get a kick outta this-- some early sketches of Fink and Logan

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

OMG those look nice

wishjacked

(And hi to SuperJustin, too!!)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Neat! Hm, Fink was shorter.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha the thing was very cartoony and different in tone at first.

the THING=-- THE COMIC...

der

wishjacked

Ahhhh, that art is so good hahaha. Look at these good guys! XD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Personally I think the final/current style fits the comic a lot more than something cartoony IMO

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

wishjacked: Agreed. One of those things that I didn't really notice, but to have it pointed out, yeah. And like the woman just turning at the bottom of the page during that rug scene. Vaguely ominous but you don't know why. Probably attribute some of that to pacing.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

funny bc they changed-- but also remained the same?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

And yeah wishjacked made a good point about the slow and fast moments.

omg that hairstyle

Agent Jay (The Pale)

oh totally Super... we changed the look really bc the tones are much darker. The story helped determine the style

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Seems liek younger/older comparisons

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ha

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yus

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

You could include the early drawing of Fink as a picture on his desk. Or maybe as his ID badge.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

The art style can give you lots of insight on a comic's tone so you want to make sure it's just right

Agent Jay (The Pale)

We work hard on the pacing. glad that shows!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be a cute little nod IMO

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

We never look our best on IDs/driver's licenses.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^^^

Amen

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm also vaguely waiting for someone to call Fink "Mulder".

wishjacked

and regarding question #2, I always get a feeling from this comic that things aren't quite what they seem in this story, so I'm very hesitant to barf up ideas about Fink's motives. Whatever they are, I think they'll be unexpected. I wonder if he has some inklings of the supernatural (???) elements of the story he's in

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe they will someday. when theyre less busy putting him up in a hotel and more busy investigating things

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

but the hotels are super comfy

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given the dreams i think hed have to have an inkling

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Fink being good with dialects probably means he'll know if anyone he runs into is from out of town. Or... out of this world?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

unless he just thinks hes the weirdest dreamer in all the land

snuffysam

He acts on rock mysteries though. You wouldn't do that if you thought your dreams were just dreams

wishjacked

and yes, Math!! Ohh, going off on another tangent about that scene, it was so well lighted too. The lighting in this comic also really helps the tone. That was a very ominous scene.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he thinks everyone has those sorts of dreams. Could be normal for him.

"My face blindness thing is an unusual quirk, but at least I have nightmares like normal people!"

Agent Jay (The Pale)

lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

possible but i doubt it O_O

until proven otherwise im assuming that isaac was murdered while investigating something and fink is trying to solve the murder but no one can know cause supernatural stuff and everyone will think hes crazy

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Also I just wanna say the inn rooms look awesome for something out in the wilderness (from what vibe the comic is giving me)

How old is the inn anyways?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, I wonder when Fink was diagnosed.

dylandrawsdraws

@Agent Jay (The Pale) hmmm which character? fink and logan -

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Crazy theory: Someone is killing people by dropping huge rocks on them, followed by shrinking the rocks down real small.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

dat crack theory(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

and the yazzie?

the native american?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

the inn... around the 1950's(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh wow

Agent Jay (The Pale)

I went through several sketches with Fink. I knew he was tall, slender, and had a dog... much like Tin Tin and that's sorta why he looks cartoony in the beginning I think... but as the story evolved, again, I just kept pushing he design to reflect that. He is supposed to resemble a bird with his hair a bit. Sort of like a crest.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ahh, Tintin, that would explain the early hairstyle a bit. Though the bird connection is interesting too.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

when I drew the HAIR.. I knew I had something I think...

from 2013

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh christ

That's quite a prototype

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Logan was a typical big guy on campus type deal.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Clever not starting the story with Fink, in a sense. It makes it more about this particular mystery and the town itself rather than one FBI case among many.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

stoic, middle aged, seen stuff, understanding, father figure type(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I see what you're sayin

Agent Jay (The Pale)

thanks Math!

snuffysam

and fink is a young, fresh face

but when they get together

the shipping begins

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Did someone say

ships

dylandrawsdraws

oh these early drawings are great

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. Despite Rocket Ridge being a small town, the discovery of a body jumpstarts a lot of strange things. Do you think someone in the town had something to do with the body that was found? If so, who do you suspect (or have we not met them yet)? If not, do you think it has to do with the town supposedly having run-ins with the supernatural? In the most recent page we do see the supernatural, so do you think it has something to do with the body? In the background there is also Sheriff Logan, the man who discovered the body. Do you think Sheriff Logan will help or hinder Fink’s investigation into the situation? At the very least, do you think Logan will discover the real reason Fink is there? Of a last note, how do you think the comic’s events will affect Logan in general?

dylandrawsdraws

can you talk about your inspirations - other media, comics, whatever?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

i watch a lot of crime dramas(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Any crime dramas in particular?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Things between Fink and Logan are definitely off to a "rocky" start. I think Logan will work out that this isn't an authorized case though, starting by looking into how Fink flew in in the first place.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

(This is a really interesting question to ask a creator IMO)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Recent favs The Killing, MindHunter, DARK, Twin Peaks (haha), Longmire

snuffysam

i think fink having to walk into town will have piqued logan's interest, absolutely

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I get why Fink wouldn't want to come clean, suspecting supernatural elements (and wanting to avoid being labelled a Mulder) but Logan doesn't seem like the type who enjoys other people trying to barge in on his territory. I mean, he was stubborn about that coffee machine for how long?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooh nice

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well and nobody likes the fbi

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Pretty much

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

cause they throw their federal weight around

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The dog does, apparently.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the dog is a spirit guide clearly

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

And actually that counsellor seemed to get on well enough with him.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Emma

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yes. I'm abysmal with names.

Ask anyone.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

yeah her and Fink got off to a okay... start sorta

yknow.. hotdogs and stuff

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i do think its inevitable logan is gonna find out about fink tho. cause fink is gonna order him and logan is gonna be like "let me talk to your superior" and then fink is gonna be like "oh shit."

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

She musterded up the courage to speak to him.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

omg

slow clap well done

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

It's beautiful

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I wonder what Fink would get out of hearing me speak.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder that too

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Aside from an excuse to be elsewhere.

snuffysam

i wonder what fink's determined about the officers he's met from their voices

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he can exposit to the dog.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hes probably determined that dang is he sure in a small town

although he probably learned that from the knife

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or his tiny alien friend.

(It's actually Logan in a suit.)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i hope fink's linguist thing comes up with logan. cause i feel like hes just gonna reveal all these personal things about logan at some point. and logan will be frowny face

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be hilarious @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"You thought it was extra terrestrial, but it was I, Dewey!"

Agent Jay (The Pale)

or Russ...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So, back to crazy theories, do you think the Tapestry Woman is committing the crimes? Because she's possessed by her tapestry, it exited her dreams and into real life?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

if i had to pick someone who was magically involved with the body and mystery, itd be dewey. O_O his radio wasnt off cause lazy. it was off cause he was busy committing more murders.

snuffysam

nah i think she's forseeing them

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ooooh, nice one Rebel.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah Rebel, good pick.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Also a nice take, snuffy. I wonder if she's trying to weave warnings into her work.

snuffysam

yeah that's what i think is going on. and at some point, fink will find out.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

By spying with his binoculars.

snuffysam

i was thinking by like... someone mentioning it

say someone who lives with her

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe tapestry lady was abducted by aliens and thats why she had nightmares. and she makes tapestries cause she knows one of them is still out there.

snuffysam

or maybe she's just psychic for unrelated reasons

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

She knows they'll want to buy a tapestry as a souvenir gift before returning to their home planet.

She's saving that dark one for them.

snuffysam

she's preparing to open a tourist trap for aliens?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be a clever way of capturing the aliens

Or not, if they're armed

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotta trap 'em somehow.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

wait what if by weaving the tapestry she set the creature from her nightmares free. and the reason she keeps it is out of guilt and the belief that one day she has to destroy it to destroy the creature.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, what if Fink is psychic? Maybe that dream he had in the plane was prophetic.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe. i tend to view his dreams as more symbolic. like im really interested in the fact he has faceblindness and isaac in his dreams had no face

snuffysam

maybe that's not isaac. how would fink know?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that is also a good point

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

By the voice, possibly.

snuffysam

fair

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Only we don't know.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

to be fair it might not have been isaac for the fact "isaac" was wearing a shirt that says "This is you"

which lends credit to the dream being prophetic

cause theyre warning him

actually yeah even tho "isaac" is talking the text is written as intelligible. so we cant gurantee he recognized isaac by voice

snuffysam

so yeah i may be right then

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So it was Fink himself!

snuffysam

the shirt did say as much

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. Besides the bigger mysteries, there is a lot of small town drama going on. At the game, we meet Emma Bloom who Dawn clearly doesn’t care for. What do you think the history is between them? Does it have something to do with Logan, or is it just between them? What significance might Emma have further along? Another noteworthy character when it comes to drama is Nathaniel. Why is Nathaniel trying to obtain a gun? Is it just for protection, due to his angst, or is something else going on? Do you think this will get him in trouble with Joseph who is keen on watching him? In respects to the larger plot, what does Nathaniel’s end of the story have to do with any of the other events going on? Are there any other dramas or characters you thought were intriguing?

snuffysam

i think emma v dawn is definitely something relationship related

not sure as to what though

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'll ship Emma and Dawn.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe emma was supposed to marry logan but then she noped out of there. and dawn knows and is like "how dare"

snuffysam

that's not entirely implausible, math. one dumped the other at some point, and there's been bad blood ever since

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like it's more of a professional issue than a personal one. Based on their professions.

Snuffy: True 'nuff!

snuffysam

what could the professional issue be, then? because in a small town, dawn's probably had to yell at everybody at least once

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its nothing relationships wise and the two are just rivals. like dawn always feels like emma is one-upping her

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I figure maybe the counsellor gave bad advice to a kid, who maybe then had a run-in with the law or something.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but only dawn feels this and emma is like "wait what"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or maybe it was just a very bad "take your kid to work" day.

Dawn seems reasonably laid back though.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe dawn just doesnt like other women in general usually

snuffysam

like she's just always catty? i guess we haven't seen her around that many other woman.

she seems friendly enough with luca though

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

it could be more...defensive shyness? like make dawn was bullied in school by other girls and thus takes a while to open up

alternatively, emma was the bully

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe Emma was arrested once.

Also, yeah, I have no idea where that gun angle is going. Nowhere good, I presume.

Given the attitude of the guy with the bullets.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im just curious how this is gonna tie into fink. unless they decide nathaniel will be their tapestry expert for some reason.

or maybe nathaniel is after that alien creature thing we see haunting fink

and thats why he wants a gun

snuffysam

i think he'll reveal the tapestries to fink, but i don't know how or why

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he has a bird interest too.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its just a casual thing that gets brought up. like logan and fink will catch nathaniel getting the gun and have him in the car. and hell just offhandedly mention something about the tapestries

snuffysam

maybe he has a bird "interest" and that's what the gun is for

but yeah i think rebel's right

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and then theyll get joseph yazzie involved and itll be ultimate cop trio

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Meanwhile the ladies solve everything back at the station.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

on a different note, i cant wait till fink is boiling in the az sun

snuffysam

ooh yeah, he hasn't seen the sun up yet

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

not to mention his suit is dark colored so its gonna absorb more heat.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea looknig forward to all that sun

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and then all the cops are gonna snicker at his unpreparedness

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

ye

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

He never seems to get the breaks to go his way.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

pretty much.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

on another different note, i like that fink just accepted the dog into his life

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm a cat person sooooooo.... sure. ^.^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im also a cat person. but i can appreciate someone getting a pet after being followed, shrugging, and going i guess this my life now

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I get the feeling Fink has to do that a lot.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

One other thing I want to mention before we wrap, that "favourite panel" contest I saw partway through. I thought that was really clever, I don't think I've seen that anywhere before.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Before time's up, If you see this, Jay, keep it up, this comic is a really great read and I love every bit of it.

snuffysam

yeah the contest was cool

as was the rest of the comic. keep it up, agent!

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ty ty

glad you guys enjoyed it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

My pleasure

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ah, you're still here. Yes, very well done.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

i've been working on some touch ups to ch4 ... and reading in here.

very fun

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

In a final twist at the end... we learn that this was all about "The Pal, E".

snuffysam

maybe the real pale was all of us

Agent Jay (The Pale)

hahaha

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lul

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Knife throwing can spark many emotions.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yus

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well i am really pale so it works O_O

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares, as well, for making The Pale and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares’ efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Obelisk by Ashley McCammon. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on June 14th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: http://www.obeliskcomic.com/