#they are more than blorbos from a show they are my entire being im so serious

[dragonairice]

LOWKEY BEEN INSPIRED BY @not-sure-what-im-feeling s AWESOME OCS AND LORE (Go check them out)

And it inspired me to talk about MY ocs :D

I mention in passing that I am in fact writing a novel, but I try to avoid saying too much to prevent spoilers buuuuut I think I can keep it vague enough while still rambling <3

The novel (technically a novella) is called 'The Shadow Walker' and here's a draft of a blurb:

With no friends, an absent mom, an abusive dad, and a shadow that inexplicably went missing; Nicholas Walker is convinced his life couldn’t possibly get any worse. But everything changes when he meets something (or someone) who may or may not want him dead.

(Not the best but again it;s a draft)

ANYWAY THIS IS MY BOY NICHOLAS

He's 12 years old and a selective mute and my scrungliest little blorbo who experiences the horrors™. He doesn't have any friends, is neglected by his parents, and all in all has a bad time before the book starts :(

The only source of healthy food in the house (he borrows money from his dad and goes to the store alone) but is severely malnourished from eating nothing more than reheated takeout his dad left in the fridge. Nick doesn't talk verbally unless it's to his dad (out of necessity) and otherwise converses in ASL (which I'm learning for this book <3). Loves pretty buildings and stargazing, has a dream of visiting things like Notre Dame and the colloseum some day and is fascinated by architecture. I just realised that this kid would adore Minecraft but anyway after things get better for him he's given Lego models of like the eiffel tower and he loves them :)

Gonna stop before I spend the entire post talking about my boy and move onto

HIS MOMM

You know that thing that's like, "Not a bad person, just a bad parent"? Yeah. That's her. She ran away from her abusive boyfriend and left Nick behind out of fear, since she didn't know if she could survive by herself, much less with a child in tow. She ends up leaving with her best friend and they travel around the world a lot for their job. They're a musician who plays back up for bands in different places and Rachel ends up learning to play some stuff too after watching them for so long. The two end up dating at some point and they've been together ever since. Rachel still sends Nicholas a postcard every time she travels to a new place, but she doesn't have the courage to actually see him in person yet. Also fun fact. She's descended from a woman who was killed for being a 'witch' during the salem trials. This is relevant to the story :3

Do I have to talk about his dad??? Ughhhhh fine

This is Gregory Walker. I hate him. bye.

Not but fr, he's a terrible father. Works at a convenience store and his co-workers fear him. Lives off of take-out and instant ramen, never checks on his son. Spends all his money gambling and buying alchohol. Literally would not notice if he missed an entire month of his life (*cough* foreshadowing *cough*)

ANYWAY ONTO TWO OF MY FAVOURITES

LEXI AND CHELSEAAA

Lexi is a single mom who grew up kinda spoiled and is still figuring out how to raise a kid. Her parents are kinda helpful about it but also she doesn't want to raise Chelsea how she was raised so hgjhrj. Chelsea was orignally planned to be autistic since this entire book is a transparent cover for neurodivergent rep but the version of her in my head is so very ADHD instead. They only show up near the end of the book so I'm still experimenting with them a bit but Lexi is a huge book worm and Chelsea loves unicorns, like, I mean in the 'mythology is cool way' not the 'stereotypical girl behaviour' way. She does love pink things and sparkles though

THERE IS ANOTHER CHARACTER BUT THEY'RE A SPOILERRRR BUT I WILL JUST SAY THEY ARE NOT HUMAN AND ALSO WHAT THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS TALKING ABOUT

(It's a sentient shadow, that's- do you get the pun in the name- there's three references in it-)

[itsdappleagain]

BARK BARK ITS FINALLY TIME FOR THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME CAPER

not giving up on my trademark of being late for csweekly even though i vowed i wouldn't be late on this one. i have an excuse. i was doing audition prep/submission for a musical

OKAY ANYWAY

i think if i ever actually visited the belltower i would take damage just from being in the space

notes under the cut as always!

OKAY starting thoughts. this is. literally my favorite episode in the entire show. my favorite. im so fucking stoked you don't even know i love watching my blorbos get beat up. me 🤝rueitae

anyways. biting this episode and shaking it violently

i like that the faculty tie actually makes sense and they have solid motivations. it isnt just a plot device for a tie

love this shiot/angle of bellum btw so behold her. she is so amazing

okay hi. immediately stopping to go on a rant about the atmosphere in this caper. its. fucking. incredible. the scenery is so perfect. the right balance of beautiful and desolate, and it changes as the mood does. i could do this later but i will do it now because idk i want to its my post

notice as the episode goes on how as the tone gets darker in carmen's plotline, the scenery and mood around her gets colder and literally darker as well.

ivy's backgrounds, meanwhile, stay pretty light throughout because she has somewhat of a more comedic and hopeful storyline while carmen dies in a ditch somewhere.

also, as soon as carmen calls chief, the snow/light of the hologram/shot composition away from the dark trees shows that there is hope now

just....hope that is tinted with cop fingerprints all over it. i just GOD i fucking LOVE how you can VISUALLY SEE HOW HER LIFE IS GOING its reflected by the very environment around her. compare any shot after she gets acme in to the very last one i put in that set of five.

no moment is darker for carmen than when she gives up, on the brink of death, and calls for help, submitting herself to prison and interrogation in the hopes that even if vile wins today, she can somehow survive to take them down again another day.

man, i am barely a minute into the actual episode and i have a lot to say. that trend will continue. sorry not sorry. back to the actual liveblogging.

fun fact the first time i watched this episode i did not notice the acme agents on top of the building watching "carmen"

i love the little hints dropped to audience members who arent entirely in the know yet (7 year olds) that its ivy, not carmen, and that something is up here. lack of gigantic poofy brown hair, different stature, ivys little smile as she goes past. of course, if you're obsessive like me, youve memorized every characters outline and can tell even with wigs on

OH hey my favorite acme agent hang on

its her. she is drop dead gorgeous and has a nose piercing. she also i think gets all of one line in the s4 opener telling crackle to do whatever (or maybe its her partner but anyway i love her)

I have already earned from her

have you been GAY for twenty years chief? julia has

julia slays so hard in this episode. wish devineaux stayed dead longer because she thrives when she's by herself

episode is literally so gorgeous

i love zari just being like oh my god this bitches gay. bad for them

that soft little "i should have known" smile julia does when carmen puts her hand on her shoulder guts me like an animal

live acme (ants to classify and monitor evildoers) reaction

hey!! next time ivy gets into a frozen adventure with carmen in germany she gets an earbud upgrade :D

zack too!!

that "but powerful" line is literally gay. happy pride month from ivy "muscles" "milady" "i feel powerful dressing in my girlfriend's clothing" lastname

obsessed with zack's little finger wiggles to emulate typing when he imitates player

i love just how. rrgh casual they are. yes carmen is super serious and focused this caper (for good reason. launch codes) but they get in a little. julia notices something small about carmen and that she's cold and the playful tone in the reply from carmen before everything kind of goes to shit. "had to loan my coat once I spotted your reinforcements!" its just a bit of information but its some that she trusts julia with. she asks julia if chief is listening but if she was. carmen would have already blown ivy's cover. i know she stole the pen for good measure but seriously she TRUSTS her

i love how julia pats her jacket and then does not react in the slightest she was just making sure that was HER pen not someone else's

ivy being horrible in snow gag is the best part of this episode

i love julia showing off. she doesnt get to infodump to anyone else but she knows carmen will appreciate it. and shes trying to be coy about knowing what carmen is there to do (sorry jules. you would have been right any other time)

i also like that as julia is infodumping shes absorbing MORE by walking backwards and gazing around the city hall

fun fact: i always wondered how the hell the acme agents got into/hid in the hall without anyone seeing them but there are doors in between all of those pillars!

also

this hallway does in fact exist! i mean considering the cs team probably went there to location scout in person (see below picture of duane and the team in san fran) it makes sense!!

anyway. should i made an "only vaguely related tangents" tally counter for these things at the end of the post lmao

i love how super serious carmen gets here. this episode is so much more mature in its theming than some other episodes. from the launch codes to the fakeout suicide to the continued death before capture thing carmen has going on. man. i cant tell if ivys comic relief section is good for lightheartedness or tonal whiplash lmao

she has for a split second the look of a mother who just heard her child say "i frew up"

ARGH and i also love how literally nothing julia can say in that time will help. she tries- oh, she tries- but "its not what you think" mistakenly sounds like she was still in on it. it looks, for the moment, like julia was trying to distract her or this acme agent missed her cue or something. of course later in the ep carmen has plennnty of time

interestingly cs does away with the doors in between the pillars for a more ethereal and sophisticated look but there are doors in my heart

i love how carmen turns to run sideways. girl even if there weren't acme agents there where were you going

i also just fucking love carmen's completely silent analysis once shit gets really serious. she calculates and recalculates what she needs to do to survive here. and she's RUTHLESS about it. i think this is kind of the one time we really see her vile training come out in comparison to someone other than vile itself. she takes those acme agents OUT

part of me wonders if carmen, in that little pause by the door, thought that maybe her chances were better backtracking but she didn't want to have to hurt jules to get out. maybe im just gay and wistful idk BUT okay here's my reasoning!! hang on! stay with me!! carmen equals BAD in tight spaces. saw it in rio, saw it in nz, saw it in poitiers. its everywhere- she does better with more space. however, she does like her high grounds, so honestly this is pure headcanon but like,,, not wanting to hurt julia. send post

also you can see in the background julia TAKING OFF after the other agents....no gun drawn of course

this fight scene with carmen is so fucking fantastic

she never. NEVER. EVER does full fight scenes where she does a lot of offensive but this situation is so different. she SPRINTS at that bitch she holds him HOSTAGE and while of course she's acting so that she doesn't get caught the fight almost portrays her a little villainously with the trail of bodies she leaves behind her as she goes

ALSO THAT FLIP OFF THE WALL MOVE IS SO DAMN COOL. she tricks the acme agent into gassing herself almost effortlessly and only takes a split second to coldly look behind her to make sure there's no one else coming before she takes off again

and then the other three who didnt get knocked out start going after her again which distracts her just enough to let zari catch her with the shot

the shaky "camera" and blurred vision pov as carmen fades in and out of consciousness while instinct alone keeps her going up the stairs is just ARGH chefs kiss

fun fact zari's "there after her" line gets reused in the series finale

btw carmen falling of the tower scared me so bad when i first watched this at like 13. suicide fakeout <3 scared me so bad

also how the camera keeps moving even when carmen doesnt even seem to be in the picture anymore before her glider catches up with it. top. tier

and then the stockholm music kicks in. hoo mama the music in this episode is fucking unparalleled. that incessant, chilling, repetitive string instrument motif as carmen's situation begins to get really dire. aurgh.

carmen's continued pov as player starts getting really concerned about her and she fades in and out. carmen weaving all over the sky and crashing into shit grggrgrgr its so good

ivy getting tazed. yeah.

ivy can pass as an....argentinian.. right boys

player and zack when two out of four of their active teammates just went mia in the span of a minute: 👁️👄👁️

man do you think they thought it was an ambush or something. like i mean it was but an organized effort by one team. do you think zack was scared he would be next and that player would be left in the dark. anyway

the way moose picks ivy up by the scruff like a cat kills me

the citizens of stockholm on this day watching a foreign police strike happen at city hall and then a tourist get tazed, mugged, and kidnapped by some locals: 👁️👄👁️

IN WITH THE HIGH NOTES ON THE PIANO IN THAT SAME REPETITIVE, INCESSANT, CHILLING STYLE OF MUSIC THIS EPISODE HAS AS CARMNE LIES MOTIONLESS IN THE SNOW ARGEHDHDHGDGSDGSDHD

i really enjoy that they show us this desolate, still shot of carmen, completely motionless, trapped in a ravine, miles and miles away from the city. she doesnt wake up. its just the cold, harsh reality. and its starting to snow a lot harder.

julia just snatching the pen gets me every time

i love the emotion dropping out of chiefs tone once she sees the 5'2" pissed off lesbian on the other end

YES julia GO OFF she should have gotten to do so much more. she should have gotten to kill someone.

julia glancing back at zari when she says "chase her away and squander her trust" and zari turning away and balling her first is such a juicy little character moment

the venom in "we had an agreement." fhrjhgfejsjjd step on me

you know how people want that throwback spinoff series for the owl house with the lost moments. that but cs. shadowsan's malaysia mission, how the team operated and the jobs while carmen was recovering, more of black sheep's time at vile/her holdover year, her and player learning together once she tours around after escaping, the shanghai job (not the tsonts one), the cairo job, the swiss bank job. how julia got into law, how chase chose his name, more on carlotta and dexter, the two years after vile's defeat and before their reappearance, more of evil carmen, player's backstory as told in silver lion. there is. so much i want to see. tangent tally.

god. player's decision here is such a hard one. he's like sixteen, and he's potentially juggling the lives of two of his best friends with that line. the decision seems obvious, but in this case it is completely, entirely wrong. player's choice to save ivy instead of carmen damn near kills her, and there's no way he could have known. player guilt angst, please!

once again the music. thank you.

carmen's cry of pure pain as she moves juuust tickles something in my brain. she has no one to put on a brave face for and that crash landing HURT.

also how hoarse her voice is

the more groans of pain as she forces herself off the ground they are so good.

i love this episode for its look into carmen's psyche. so much of her is playing off of others, but in this one she is utterly alone. we see her thought processes in the worst of times with no one to fight but the weather and herself. fantastic shit. never forgiving sarcastic chorus for skimming over this episode and saying nothing happens did you watch it

the puff of breath when carmen says "player"!!!

carmen's tone when she goes "oookay." just is so good. gina did not skimp out on this performance and part of me wonders if she could have done better if she wasnt always trying to play the emotionless, suave hero figure and she let carmen be more human, like in this episode. carmen is seeing that she is injured, acme is trying to reach her, her glider is broken, she has no protection from the cold, and that player and any other help is completely out of range and she is not happy about it

carmen crying out when she slips even more when she's trying to climb its so tangible and delicious

FUN ANECODTE because i havent gone on enough tangents for this post already but the first time i ever saw this episode my dad came to pick me up for his half of the week right here. i had to leave the episode right here, with ivy kidnapped and mia and carmen alone in the frozen ravine, the acme pen blinking. i didnt have access to netflix to finish the episode. for. four. days. let me tell you. um. this episode literally did not let me sleep. that first night i was lying in bed i stayed up until like 3am just staring at the ceiling replaying the scenes and making theories. i was dry in the mouth. when i fell asleep i dreamed about it and kept waking up in the middle of the night. i cornered my dad and recounted the entire episode to him and then reeled off my theories to him. i reeled off my theories to my friends. i was literally consumed by the ending of this episode that i could not see. it was Not Healthy and it impacted me VERY HEAVILY as you can see.

but anyway my one theory was that carmen was going to be forced to call acme for help and be arrested because they kept doing closeups on the pen. good job, thirteen year old me. the foreshadowing worked.

back to the episode

ivys literally so cute in this episode

look at her.

ottoman has chihuahua vibes

the ice lodge staff watching two guys drag some poor red haired white bitch into the hotel like a sack of potatos: im sure shes fine they probably told them she was drunk lmao

im goosebumping something wicked here is one of the phrases of all time

DUMSKALLE

that raw, desperate "no" and scream from carmen is so good. that fall hurt five thousand times more because it was a failure. and also she probably just broke all the ribs that weren't broken before

it took me a few watches originally to see that carmen hits her glider on the way down. first time around i was like where tf did she get that wack ass blanket

draw me like one of your moose boys

moose boy unironically seems like a nice guy who got dragged into this by otter

can you imagine if they showed up with ivy and were like HAHA. CARMEN SANDIEGO. what would the faculty do with this poor white girl who is definitely not carmen. probably wipe her memory and boot out otter and moose but can you imagine their reactions

MOOSE BOY IS VOICED BY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG?? SCREAMING

or maybe it was right here that i got cut off with the panning shot of the pen and carmen sitting away from it staring at it. whatever it was but anyway yeah

the sadness and defeat as carmen shivers and tells this imaginary chief that vile is winning today either way just kills me i love it so much. carmen's death before capture ideology (almost. capture wins but it almost doesnt)

LAUNCH CODES? AS IN NUCYULAH?

also team red. didnt know what was on the data crystal!! they didnt know what the handoff was!!! they just knew it was fucking serious and that makes this all the more scary. had ivy not gotten kidnapped they would have missed it. i mean carmen would have probably tried to drag her foot on deaths doorstep ass over to the ice lodge to try anyway but she would have gotten triple pulverized

someone swinging (insert wieldy object) at a gigantic villain and it doing nothing is my favorite battle trope

more ivy appreciation

she said NOPE

ivy is literally so cool in this episode. she's still herself but she's trying to channel carmen and fill her gigantic shoes by making her proud. but she isnt carmen, and thats okay. she ends up doing it with a mix of carmen's help and her own goofy, clumsy style

AND IVYS TWANGY LITTLE VERSION OF CARMENS THEME AS SHE SUITS UP. ITS AWESOME

again. ivy being terrible on ice gag is the best. winters in boston must have been torture

man it doesnt even show all of it but you can see the agonizing that went into carmen's decision to call acme. once she makes it she doesnt hesitate in grabbing and clicking it. she does it seamlessly and with resignation. shes already fought with herself enough in her own head.

carmen: literally in the middle of the woods, shaking like a travelling fair rollercoaster ride, and bleeding from a thousand cuts chief: oh hey! sorry about that

MAN CARMEN THREW THAT PEN A LONG WAY

i also like that carmen has to heave herself up from sitting, and that she's only standing as a last display of control when every other ounce of it has been ripped from her. she has to lean on the tree, still, even to manage it. as soon as she pushes off of that tree and starts walking towards chief she collapses.

chief those business negotiations. can you wait

i do appreciate that chief doesnt play dumb or think carmen is dumb. she's been calling that pen for as long as carmens been staring at it. she knows carmen knows what calling her means and doesnt try to hide that theyre coming for her.

haha. where in the world is carmen sandiego reference. get it

MAN AND THEN EVERYTHING GETS SOO BAD. you realize just how serious this is when carmen drops the tough act and just reaches out. she does a quip, but her face is just hopeless and she drops like a STONE. she was barely hanging on. already dumped this onto rueitae's post but i think that as soon as she knew she'd done everything she could do and had exhausted every single option except dying on the spot. well. she didnt have a reason to hang on anymore. she gave up every single ounce of control to chief when she clicked that pen and her body needed to shut down to save her. so so so good

i really really like chief running over and hesitating before she puts her "hand" on carmens shoulder. she knows she cant do anything, but she can pretend and she can hope

i really do think she was concerned about carmen here, not just about the intel she was potentially losing. this scene mirrors her past with wolfe nearly perfectly, and it NEVER gets talked about. once again a call chief made on a person who turned out to have innocent intentions (gun was really car keys, julia going off the grid was really just her and carmen talking it out) gets them killed- or, in carmen's case, almost. chief, this time, has the power to save her and fix this mistake. parallels are also fun because obviously carmen is wolfe's daughter so double angst.

ivy immediately switching to suspicious spy face after she slams into the bar is so funny

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW OFTEN I USED TO JUST RANDOMLY SAY "hello, im shady mcshade from some sleazy rogue nation, check out my briefcase full of untraceable cash!" to just RANDOM PEOPLE IN MY LIFE with NO CONTEXT

the bartender is not paid enough for this

I LOVE THE LADY WHO JUST GETS TF OUTTA THERE WHEN IVY CRASHES INTO HER CHAIR

the little trill of carmens triumph theme when ivy looks at the grappling hook is so good

girl. ivy. you missed that REALLY BADLY for someone who threw an anchor up three stories with pinpoint accuracy like a couple years ago

poor ivy she was doing so well with the quips and the competence until she announced it to the entire ice lodge

warrior cats girls on the playground

ivys unhinged scream as she barells towards otter is so fantastic

it would really have super sucked if zack had run ivy over

again. this episode is so beautiful

i love that otter and moose would normally have never even been glanced at for an episode because they suck so bad but because it was untrained baby ivy (who still kicked their asses) they could be there also who assigned them the nuclear fucking launch codes. who did that

oh man you can see the smile drop off ivys face when zack asks where they can find carmen. she doesnt even think that carmen is still missing. she probably thinks carmens back on track by now, not that it would be HOURS later and shes still missing.

zack getting to ivy on the other side of stockholm: 🐌🐌🐌 zack getting to carmen twice as far away in the middle of the woods: 🦔 (too lazy to find sonic meme. sonic meme.)

julia just giving zari the most disappointed look when zari kicks carmen when shes down

FUN FACT OF THE DAY! in the original storyboards, julia and zari were supposed to get a SHOOKETH reaction shot when chief offers carmen a way out with z and i. they cut it. rude.

the pen lowering down to reveal julia behind it has always felt like such an important shot and i dont know why. like theres some symbolism im majorly missing out on there

ahh, the heartbroken look between friends

AGAIN this episode punches you like an elephant on steroids with that quiet "is she going to make it?" CARMEN IS ON THE BRINK. OF DEATH. AND HER FRIENDS ARENT EVEN CERTAIN SHES GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT. MAN. it raises the stakes up so high like obviously she wont die but in a tvy7 kids cartoon this is so fucking serious

carmen, delirious with the cold and pain, wondering if someone made a clone of her:

addressing all groups of people from now on as "student body most vile"

hey vile has a sick waterfall wall

it is really interesting that they do in fact shut down the academy. no one is allowed at the castle anymore once they move there. its also cool that in s4 because bellum doesnt have to be there teaching she can go to the himalayas and tinker full time!

wow. zuko and luz are in that crowd <3

okay. so. best episode ever. i love it so much and ive already gushed about it way too much so i wont keep you much longer.

tangent tally final count: like at least five it depends how specific you are

sorry about how long this is take it up with a brick wall it will be remorseful than me

[destinysbounty]

zane and nya for character opinion bingo

ZANE

Oh god blorbo supreme. The original blorbo. This nindroid can fit so much trauma in him. I could rant about him for a million years. Im like this close to giving into temptation and making a 20-minute compilation of all my favorite Zane moments (listen, the party pooper scene lives in my head rent-free at all times). Oh god he needs so much therapy, and no, locking your trauma in a digital puzzle box does not count as therapy.

Some people characterize him as some emotionless and boring lawful good. Some people characterize him as an uwu wholesome softboi. But in my opinion, the most correct interpretation is Dorky Suburban Dad.

Think about it. He wore a button-up and khakis to the beach. He dresses up in a full scuba skin-suit whenever they have a party in their own damn hot tub. He once wore a sweater vest with snowflakes on it. On their lil desert road trip he entertained himself by reading about regional trivia, and delighted in sharing this trivia with his friends. He loves playing board games, especially chess. He likes to make ice puns. He loves cooking. He's the closest thing they have to a responsible adult. When he became the team leader in season 5 he kept everyone pumped with all those silly little sayings like "one team one dream!" He apparently loves detective fiction. He thinks that walking like a pirate with a peg-leg will get people to respect him. He loves astronomy and, according to Lloyd, "knows the solar system better than anyone". Whenever someone is upset he's always there providing a comforting smile and a pat on the shoulder. He spent 5 minutes debating the morality of making an ice ramp for a slug. He doesn't understand pop culture. Zane is a dorky suburban dad and you can't change my mind.

He's also a fashion icon. For example, when he died, the ninja all became a total fashion disaster in his absence. We all saw it. None of them matched. Like did you see Kai's horrendous lil fight club costume? Jay's atrocious tv host suit? And Cole just straight up wasn't even wearing a shirt anymore. And even when they came back together, their ninja suits still didn't match! And sure, it was meant to symbolize how disjointed they'd become in the wake of his loss, but STILL. The fact that their CLOTHES of all things were out of wack indicates to me that he's the only one on the team with any fashion sense.

And let's not forget the moment from Seabound where he decided to wear the breathing mask despite not needing oxygen because "I like how it completes my attire". And his Snake Jaguar costume!!! And his titty-out look in The Island! And not to mention how the Detective Zane outfit is a LOOK. He rocks the hell out of that trenchcoat.

This is all to say, Lego needs to release the forbidden bikini Zane content or I'm gonna break in and find it myself.

NYA

Ohoho, the fandom does Nya SOOO dirty. Especially since she's not as outwardly affectionate as Jay, so a lot of people interpret this as her being more callous and unloving towards him. She A) has a metric ton of childhood baggage, and B) expresses her affection in different ways! Jay might say 'I love you' with words more often, but she shows how much she cares through acts of service and quality time and whatnot.

Also. Hot take but Nya has some of the most compelling character arcs and subplots in this entire goddamn show. Teaming up with Dareth to spy on Chen? Overcoming her gifted child syndrome in season 5? The X Cave fight in season 7????? Struggling to keep the resistance alive even when all her friends were dead, doing everything in her power to keep Lloyd from losing hope even though they were the only ones left???????????? The entirety of Seabound??????????

The show definitely blunders often in terms of the whole sexism/performative feminism thing, for sure. Looking at you, Skybound. But she also has a LOT of character arcs where her being the Girl^TM isn't even at all relevant. Season 5. Season 7. Season 9. Season 10. Season 11. Season 15.

Anyway Nya is amazing and she deserves better from the fandom, and I will die on this hill. Nya didn't singlehandedly destroy hell itself just to be reduced to some shallow Designated Love Interest.

[robozombii]

lets say. metaphorically. i am gripping your shoulders with upmost strength (if thats cool lmao) sorry in advanced because im gonna get really annoying rq BUT ive started talking about duet and i WILL. NOT. STOP. also i dooo plan on sharing the slides to some but its been a wip for like a whole year😅so i doubt ill finish it soon. anyhow [inhale]

WARNING FOR mentions of the backrooms, death, but its not the main focus

about duet being an inciting incident, i could only GUESS as to what the gangs situation was like prior to duets encounter. but arthur in the comic dismisses lewis as soon as he mentions him. and THIS??

ITS JUST A LINE. BUT IT SHOWS that the gang avoided anything to do with lewis. and thus, without duet slapping arthur in the face with cryptic literature, they wouldve probably been stuck in a depressing state of avoidism. which DOESNT MOVE A PLOT. BUT DUET DID!!! DUET THE FUCKING MADMAN

duet literally couldve had SO MUCH CONTROL over the gang. in the beginning at least- from encountering arthur at his most vulnerable state (which would be easier to influence), to giving the magic book, to telling arthur to get some gas for the van. that seems like a minor detail but imagine if they didnt and went to a gas station instead of the mansion. duet couldve literally had their ENTIRE ROAD TRIP planned out.

and another note- this???

theres a lot of things to note about the comic panel by itself -how a book connected to duet has vines? connection to shiromori or rose thorns that point to lewis- AND THE COLOR IN ARTHURS EYES which does sort of resemble the possession and control reverb had over him. could this be a way of duet controlling arthurs will? but theyre both purple which caught my attention because COLOR IS IMPORTANT!!! it might be a stretch but it really is in msa. and i dont think duet and lewis would team up necessarily- i doubt theyd have the same motives. but duet isnt just 'the weird boss of tome tomb' theyre so much more CAPABLE. they could possibly forsee the future and shit?? IDK??

and going back to chloe- while i feel she has a bit of a motive to mess with the gang -its immature but a motive. go look at her wiki for an idea- duet could have the actual CAPABILITIES to put a plan into motion. a theory i saw stated that chloe was the 'SOLO' in reverbs intro, and thus a contrast to her friend duet, but could it also be that SOLO is an alternate name for duet themself? its just something to speculate, if one or the other could be malicious, or both.

OK RANT PART TWO: NOBODY FUCKING WRITES DUET and neither do i.. yet. but i rarely see them mentioned either!! WHICH SUCKS BECAUSE THE CANON HAS LITERALLY SHOWN THEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT TOOL IN DRIVING MSAs PLOT. BEING THE INCITING INCIDENT.

this isnt so prominent in my fics, theyre mentioned in both of my published ones though- in full bloom, they say an odd phrase to vivi, just as they did to arthur in canon. it doesnt really do anything BUT i plan to utilize it in a possible sequel

in my BACKROOMS FIC THOUGH? theyre.. not mentioned that much either oops. but it goes to show just how odd an interpretation of duet could get. i stated earlier that duet possibly had control over the gangs future, part magic part manipulation, and thats fine in canon. they probably have good motives by pushing the gang together and FORCING them to make up- but in the backrooms fic, the gang literally ends up in a fucked up world and one of them ends up DEAD. like. if duet was aware of such a thing, and led the gang with full intentions to such a thing..

like- do you see what im saying? there could be tons of aus where just a touch of their influence fucks everyone up and turns them into a darker character than what they are right now. AND I LOVE MAKING FUCKED UP BLORBOS. PLEASE WRITE DUET AND CHLOE MORE OR AT LEAST IMPLEMENT THEM INTO PLOTS THEYRE THERE TO DO SHIT LET EM DO SHIT!!!!

if you wanna im not forcing you😭i hope i get an opportunity to REALLY really write em but a lot of my fic ideas are centered around arthur and vivi woops. anyways- thats just a FRACTION of what youd see on my msa presentation lmaoooo. i dont even have this rant added on there- so i probably should. feel free to add your own thoughts and stuff i love the fanart and fics this fandom has to offer but can we also offer SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS OF RANTING. please

[catboy-joyfriend]

i know jack shit about ghost music or characters but inform me on blorbos from ur bands

OK SO FIRST OF ALL ^. okok i think im just gonna kinda dump info and characters and stuff. SO.

In actuality Ghost started releasing music in I think 2010, but in the lore they've existed since the 60s. Basically the premise is that the clergy, which is basically the satanic church and is like. parallel reverse christianity. uses Ghost as a way to spread the word of Satan and convert people etc. the role of Papa Emeritus is like the antipope basically, the first of which we know of being Papa Nihil/Papa Emeritus 0 who was Papa in the 60s!

hes old now go peepaw. The EP Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, which has Kiss The Go-Goat and Mary on a Cross is supposed to be a rerelease of songs from when he was Papa Emeritus ! also hes dead but they revive him onstage during rituals (ghost concerts r called rituals 👍) so he can play the sax. again, go peepaw. The rest of the Papas are his sons ! (except MAYBE Papa iv depending on which theory ur going on.)

Ghost in the lore stopped making music after Papa Nihil's era because the world "wasn't ready for Ghost" iirc, and as of 2010 when the band actually started making music irl Papa Emeritus I (or Primo as some fans call him :3), Papa Nihil's oldest son, became the frontman for the band :D. I dont have much to say about him lol, he released the album Opus Eponymous. Peepaw 2. Also the only one without a custom made mask iirc. He served as Papa until 2012 when he was retired by the clergy for not spreading the word of Satan good enough lol

Papa Emeritus II !! Aka Secondo. Old man but moving out of Peepaw territory. He was Papa from 2012-2015 , and released the album Infestussumam. They made a documentary web series called Papaganda which is pretty much about how much of a slut this dude is. also they showed his dick in a music video one time. He was also retired by the clergy for not doing a good enough job

PAPA III MY LOVE PAPA III. or Terzo. Papa III is the youngest of Papa Nihil's confirmed sons, and was active as Papa from 2015-2017 and released the Meliora album. He's the first of the Papas to perform in an outfit other than his papal regalia, and was dragged offstage at the end of one ritual, I believe because he had become too focused on himself rather than the mission of the clergy. This is when Papa Nihil was officially introduced. Primo, Secondo, and Terzo were then killed by the clergy in 2018.

Cardinal Copia was introduced in 2018 and became the new frontman of the band after the deaths of the previous ones. He is the first non-Papa front man, and was noted to not be of the bloodline, although it is possible he is still the son of Papa Nihil, as Nihil's lover Sister Imperator is shown to be pregnant in the Kiss the Go-Goat music video, which lines up when he likely would have been born, and Imperator is heavily implied to be his mother (even nearly saying so in the video Tomb It May Concern ("As your m- as someone who loves you")) Though it is entirely possible he could be like the antichrist or something & it could be a virgin mary kinda situation cuz there's evidence for that too. He released the album Prequelle :) He's very silly very awkward (tho much more confident and charismatic onstage) & everyone decided he loves rats because. he released the song Rats. woo!

Cardinal Copia rose to the papacy as Papa Emeritus IV in 2020, and released the Impera album !! :D Some people also like to call him Popia but I tend to just call him Papa IV, or still just Copia. Like Terzo, he tends to not perform in non-papal outfits like this blue jacket or bat wings etc. He has the most outfit variation out of all the papas, something thats carried over from the prequelle era when he was a cardinal. His face looks different, which in reality was because his mask was changed, but character-wise they explained it by giving him plastic surgery. He is the currently active Papa and everyone is absolutely terrified that hes gonna die soon god bless. Hes my wife my babygirl mwah

All Papas are played by the actual frontman Tobias Forge in different masks except I think young Nihil who's only in music videos

There's more stuff I could go into like the nameless ghouls and Sister Imperator but I am ! Almost out of image space in this post lol.

[kelp-my-beloved]

More Empires fic recs

It's me again. This are a few of my favourite empires fics in ao3, this time multichaptered edition. This are all completed, both from s1 and s2, and in no particular order. Fics under the readmore, enjoy!

Four Reasons Why I'm Broken (And Why That's Okay), by Useless_Bisexual123: "False is paranoid. False has memory problems. False doubts herself. False gets nightmares. But maybe, just maybe, that's alright."

Rating: T Archive Warnings: GDV Chapters: 3/3 Words: 7384

This was one of the first fics I read about Empires!False, and Im absolutely in love with her characterisation in here. She's tired, stressed, and I love her for this. The writting is so good too, and before I realised I had read the entire thing in one sitting. Also, Lizzie is here, and every paragraph she's in had me either dying in laughter or was just too cute. Just. I love this.

Shifting Perspective, by @scribbling-dragon: "Shapeshifters are shunned, pushed away from the light they helped to diminish. Their God retreated as they were outcast, disappearing into shadows that had only just appeared. Yet, they whisper that He is still present in the crackling of lightning and rumbling of thunder. His luck never seemed to hold firm, he's rather certain that Luck themselves holds a grudge against him at this point. And, as Luck would have it, he's been cursed with the gift, and truly, who could have been more suited to it than the Ruler of Rivendell? (Literally anyone else, is the answer you're looking for.)"

Rating: T Archive Warnings: GDV Chapters: 25/25 Words: 112658

So, this one is I think the most popular in the list, and it's probably you've seen it around if you spend at least half as much time as I do in the ao3 fandom tag, but oh my god. It deserves every good thing. I know this is a long read but it's absolutely worth it. I read it while the last chapters were still coming out, A While ago, and it still lives in my head rent free. I wish it a lot of extra kudos.

fill your lungs, by rabbit_with_a_sword: "When Sausage collapses, finally unable to hide the side affects from being resurrected, Gem and fWhip have to scramble to prevent him from being drawn back into the Spirit Realm and face the consequences of his escape. But there's more to Sausage than he likes to show, and he didn't escape intact…"

Rating: T Archive Warnings: CCNTU Chapters: 12/12 Words: 18504

This fic somehow manages to be so hilarious and made me have so many feelings at the same time. A chapter would update and I would spend the rest of the week worrying about my poor blorbo. But also, the lore behind it is top noch, there are so many details that made want to point at them and shout my thoughts. I may or may not have gone a little bit crazy over them, but keeping my sanity was never an option.

Tabula rasa, by @capriciouswriter207: "tabula rasa: the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions -- Sausage wakes up in bed. It’s pleasant. He stares at the ceiling. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t think. He doesn’t do anything. He just exists. (or: the fight with a certain wizard saves him from the corruption, but it leaves him in an extremely vulnerable state)"

Rating: T Archive Warnings: CCNTU Chapters: 27/27 Words:31097

This one was finished recently, and I was not ready to let it go. If I'm forced to say only one thing about it, is how much I enjoyed the way it was written, specially going back to the beggining after reading the end. This made me feel A Lot Of Feelings, and I really couldn't recomend it enough.

Obligatory Notes:

I did my best to tag the writers, but there are a few that I couldn't find, if they have a tumblr. If you know one I've missed, please let me know!

Also, feel free to add your own recs! I want to read them!

More recs but this ones are one-shots

[sanchoyo]

arc v 31-40 thoughts. um. um well, yes………these kids need therapy, to preface this…holy shit ? wow. a lot happened in this stretch of episodes, answered some questions and raised 4000 more. anyway.

-SHINGO TRYING SOOOOO HARD TO BE COOL BUT BEING A MASSIVE DORK IS JUST ENDEARING ME TO HIM SO MUCH MORE. HES LIKE SHOOTING UP MY RANKING. which right as im typing this on 31, is yuzu, shingo, sora, masumi, reiji, and michio as my favs (probably in that order, too. im just as shocked sora got up so high, considering i was ANNOYED when he showed up first LMAO his friendship with yuzu is so endearing tho…)

-new opening! interesting imagery in it, but def liked OP 1 way more song-wise. -_-

-every word out of shingo's mouth im like . yeah ok im loving him hes SO funny JSDHFJK . his deck is furry samurai too, which is. well. its very good.

-reiji seems more concerned with his own goals to see yuya as a proper rival! I think he just sees him as the son of someone he admired, and someone of interest bc of pendulum! I dont think he thinks of this 14 yr old as a threat to his status or anything! which is the usual ygo rival MO…feels like shingo really is that rival character, which makes more sense to me given my expectations for a rival lol! 31-32 were the eps that made me start rly like yuya more (not that I disliked him before! just…he felt more like a protag when he started getting super into it!!! yes show some passion tomato boy!!!)

-wasnt too crazy about the new outro, either (the visuals were nice at least!)

-ok shingo is def the rival, right? right. a lil gay with it. theyre so CUTE firing each other up so much, its actually pretty fun and theyre both having a good time getting the crowd worked up together…wholesome! like, very very wholesome! 32 might be one of my fav eps, along with the yuzu/masumi 2nd duel…

-cannot fucking explain the drop in my stomach when getting to an episode just titled 'neo heartland city' and nothing else. NO NONOONO. NOT MY FUCKING CITY WITH MY FUCKING BLORBOS. EVEN IF ITS SOME KIND OF AU SITUATION IM SO SCARED.

-called it with the masumi being some kind of brainwashed to think shun was always lds! me and yuzu are on the same page

-ok seeing heartland city field spell was DISTURBING LIKE WATCHING A ZOMBIE OF A LOVED ONE BEING REANIMATED. all of the charas are calling it futuristic.. so is... is arc v chronologically in the PAST???? are all the dimensions also on different YEARS or??

-christ alive! reiji is doing the heartland city field spell on PURPOSE TO UPSET SHUN??? 'he should be happy' BITCH HE ISNT HAPPY. SHUN IS A HEARTLANDER. WHICH I ASSUMED BC XYZ, BUT YEAH. YEAH. WHAT HAPPENED BUDDY TELL ME!!!

-oh god

-oh god

-oh god. what the fuck, sora.

-ok. well. i knew this would happen. could not have predicted HOW or the fucking tone shift. I have whiplash. this was hard to watch, I literally had to keep pausing to get up, pace, breath, then come and sit again. several times. the actively being super fake from sora, trying to be cheerful and nonchalant and a bit bratty but still trying to hype the crowd, then the gradual, then frantic build up to someone clearly UnWell and Maniacal and SADISTIC and DESPERATE to Say the Least...insanely well done, hard to watch bc it HURTS. LIKE.

-what the hell, sora. -what the HELL. its not like I ever ENTIRELY trusted him, but my GOD. the execution was flawless

-'hunting you all is FUN and not hard at ALL and I LOVE IT' OK???? 13 YR OLD LOVES GENOCIDE. AND THE OTHER 14? 15? YEAR OLD CLEARLY TRAUMATIZED. BUT IN A RESISTANCE OF SOME KIND. COOL COOL COOL. ALL MY FAVS ARE PROB DEAD OR IN CARDS AUGH.

-both of them need therapy. this whole ordeal, soras scary creepy faces, making children cry, using the scariest creepycute monsters ive ever seen? endears him more to me somehow. hes a littol fucked up actually…more than expected…I can VIBE with that. I LIKE characters that are a Little Fucked and yugioh has NO shortage of them. might have to swap around that fav charas order list immediately.

-I felt bad for shun the entire duel, my god it was cruel of reiji to pull this field up! its! fucking heartland city! AAUGH IM SAD TOO, SHUN.

-fucking . horrifying how desperate sora is to win. shun is fighting for resistance and for survival, sora is trying to prove he can easily 'hunt' xyz users…which, he obv Cant Easily Do, he gets Squished, loses, passes out and has to go to the hospital. thru out this ordeal yuya and co are becoming progressively more horrified, but still care for their friend! awful awful painful to watch. but also, they might be the only ppl sora has in this dimension and I think. i think we can Fix Him. hes YOUNG we can FIX that mindset, right…or am I being too optimistic. idk the way it was framed and how much yuzu and yuya care abt him…I feel like he'll be helped (I hope??? child soldiers bad)

-the next ep opens with yuya, gongenzaka and yuzu actually TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS, swapping info, and thank GOD for that!!!! I felt like yuzu was the only one of them involved heavily in the main plot for a while there!!! yuya was actually pretty serious about it, which is Nice to see (again, hes starting to feel more like a 'protag' to me now…)

-sora and yuto confrontation leads to an escape from the hospital and a duel, of course…that shun doesnt WANT to continue bc sora is obviously! hurt! and yuto isnt HEARTLESS. sora is desperate to Prove Himself (making me wonder if academia punishes ppl who dont…do well or agree to help them…) and fucking yuya finally steps in to help. altho given the context clues. well buddy it doesnt sound like soras on the Correct Side! it sounds like! hes the bad guy here! (or, raised in that mindset at least, not the main bad guy but def needs to be treated carefully) n u shouldnt be dueling yuto at all bc u dont understand the situation!! AUGH. I GET it tho, the little blue freeloader has been eatin pancakes with u everyday for how long,, hes grown on ME TOO SO I CANT SAY ANYTHING. AUGH.

-sora got Sucked Back to fusion dimension bc his identity was compromised. THATS why he couldnt tell anyone! actually very understandable.

-yuto and yuya stopped their duel, realizing they have absolutely NO reason to fight, and yuto was very reasonable and explained everything! im shocked at the straightforward answers to a lot of my questions (I still have a lot more…interesting yuya's dimension is 'standard'…hm)

-they analyzed soras memories without consent while he was unconscious………………dude. dont DO THAT!!!

-banana hair is here! on a bike! I'm a lil confused at synchro's role in the war? they were recruited by fusion?? to help crush xyz?? or just yugo was?? or its a misunderstanding somehow bc they both seem to think the other stole something (someone, right?)... is my ASSUMPTION (at the start of 37 as I type this) which is…ok, reiji's dad is behind it for Some Reason. Why? why just target xyz?

-also where is dm in all of this? (…ok I have a THEORY with NO basis, that arc v/standard dimension is the direct branch of dm but years later. NO basis for this but it would explain where dm fits in, maybe? like arc v being an alternate branch instead of gx, and gx being the actual odd one out on the timeline?? I dont KNOW yet. I think zexal implied 5ds never happened at one point, right?? VERY confused LMAO)

-yugo? (sub says HYUGO which is very funny to me, I know theyre all yu-boys tho. cant fool me) is SILLY.

-ok, theres def four yuya-lookalikes (and yuzu, based on the ruri stuff). I've seen their designs before so I knew that obv, and one for every dimension. why…? whenever they summon their lil dragons and those start resonating they start to go. um. murder-y! yuya snapped yuto out of it, but STILL. I'm assuming this has something to do with…why theres four lookalikes, and yuzu and yuya's Magic Accessories. somehow. I assume maybe…not everyone has alternate dimension counterparts, maybe the accessories have a lot to do with it (~dimension magic~ ??) and them being too close starts to make them go a lil. crazy. (like. saying destroy everything jkdafjk) bc theyre all diff versions of the same person? like just born into diff dimensions. (insert trust no one not even urself memes here lol) and they have diff personalities based on their diff lives/families ofc…this is my theory For Now. lets see yuzu and ruri get close together to see if they also go crazy or What. I Am Waiting

-….yuto didnt DIE die just now right? he vanished. maybe he went back to his home dimension. it LOOKED like a death scene, but my god its ep 37! out of 150ish! he was set up as a main player right?? hes not DEAD dead??? yuya passed out for TWOOOO DAYS AFTER WITNESSING THIS???? he has the constitution of a sickly victorian maiden. (but also, is he just in his room and NOT A HOSPITAL??? HES IN A COMA!!! take him to the hospital tf!!! why are they entertaining meirus crystal spiritual healing!!! )

-oh my god YUZU is the one the bad guy wants? shes an important PIECE. NOT YUYA. AGAIN MAIN CHARACTER STATUSSSS I KEEP SAYING IT BUT. SHES SO IMPORTANT. (can I assume this shadowy bad guy figure is reijis dad? like thats gotta be, right)

-omg last yuya lookalike from fusion dimension is SQUIRRELY EVIL YUYA. I love this flavor of character I can tell just from his vibes hes fun. and hes pink and purbly. good! (LMAO at them translating his name as joeri. its yuri right? theyre all yu-names, furthering my idea theyre all the protags of their dimensions lol)

-…i forgot the maiami championship was even happening LMAO would yuya and yuzu just not have participated further if he stayed in a coma??

-….sora being like 'PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GO BACK TO STANDARD I WANT TO MURDER REFUGEES FROM XYZ SOOO BAD' while on some kind of medical table is. so. like do I laugh or cry about this KJHJSDJ

-SORRY BUT YAIBAS 4 SECOND LONG DUEL?? WAS SO FUNNY. GUY WHO JUST BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF YOU WHILE PLAYING A CARD GAME. SURE!!! OK. guess THATS not against the rules! THEY HAD TO CARRY HIM AWAY ON A STRETCHER. and yuya duels this dude next…I hope yuya returns that energy LMAO

-HEY what the HELL yuya is not responsible for your issues kachidoki LMAO how is it his fault he was having fun with his dad as a kid and you werent?? big jealousy match (also, what the hell @ his sensei telling him he wont have 'childish or fun' duels…when he looked like, 5? HES A BABY AND ITS A GAME SIR)

-'so far you've been walking a sunny path without a single shadow' my god dude, just bc yuya SEEMS happy doesnt mean he has no problems? he HELD A BOY WHO DIED(?) IN HIS ARMS 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THIS DUEL. HES GOT AN INTER-DIMENSIONAL MYSTERY ABOUT HIS LOOKALIKES. POTENTIAL DIMENSIONAL WAR TO DEAL WITH. HIS DAD WENT MISSING WHEN HE WAS A KID!! HES GOT!! PLENTY OF ISSUES!!!

-just as I type that. yuya is having a fucking TRIP about yuto and. looks fucking POSSESSED. RED EYES GLOWING HAIR UP. DID YUTO POSSESS HIM?? WHAT THE HELL. yugioh standard I Guess but is yuto for real just a spirit now?? LIKE, did he ACTUALLY KIND OF DIE DIE. UNSETTLED. (yaaaay xyz protag moment tho ^_^) I guess protags going dark/having a dark side IS ygo standard, theyve all been there! (I mean, ik about vrains, go rush or sevens yet…but up until arc v its been a consistent!) yuto was def not THAT level of scary tho (except when the dragons were resonating and he was all 'destroy everything . um.)

-lmaoooo kachidoki rly got what he asked for. he said ur gonna taste the darkness. and YUYA WENT FULL RUTHLESS SCARY MODE. GOT EM SO FAST. yes yuya everyone is scared of you a little bit HOWEVER consider that I LIKE scary characters who are a Bit Fucked up. keep it up bestie

-my god reiji is basically holding shun hostage, not letting him do anything, or not telling him abt yuto's duel disk being found….mean!

-we're 40 eps in and I still have SO many questions. however we must pause the plot for MAGICAL IDOL GIRL DUEL. SHES SO CUTE!!!!! girl duelists > everyone else. of course we dont get to see yuzus duel, we cut to reiji dueling some rando guard of not yuzu's while not yuzu stands to the side. very cool how they keep not letting the girls do Anything

-reiji is like 'yo why da hells there (2) of yuzu too' me too bud go solve mysteries for me scooby doo!

-very nice how reiji is like 'seal this area and dont let anyone enter until I say so' while theres danger, like, feels like he actually gives a shit despite his cool and levelheaded personality, which is nice. hes not gonna be my number one probably, but I do rly like him as a character so far… (except when he chose heartland field for shun, that was FUCKED up and I still cant tell if he was being sincere in thinking shun would like it or purposely being an asshole…)

-oh my god its not ruri this girl is named serena. JSDFKDJF WELL. IN MY DEFENSE. I MAY BE STUPID. I was prepared to type a full paragraph abt how its so scary academia seems to have taken ruri and brainwashed her so she'd think she was on their side,, and serena. is not ruri. theyre two diff characters. like I thought they were the same person. omg. I was just abt to type 'how does anyone genuinely mistake yuya for yuto theyre SO different looking' then I DO THIS. incredible! thats a great stopping place LMAO

[logically-asexual]

i cant deny that fanfic and dracula daily have changed my life when it comes to reading

i never liked reading. it just wasn’t a medium i understood or connected with. i read books but didn’t quite *get* what was happening, ever.

fanfic helped me skip the parts of reading that i struggled with: picturing the characters in my head only based on written descriptions, and following a plot that i know nothing about and have no expectations for to guide me. i could finally read, and learned to appreciate the things i was missing due to the obstacles. it made it less overwhelming.

and then dracula daily has helped as a stepping stone, because the fact that the updates are short and spread out over months means i have time to connect with the characters, to focus on them and on my feelings about them, with the help of other people talking about the same thing i can have a better mental image of them, both in terms of physical appearance and of their personality.

it also helped because the daily pieces are read separately, and the plot is easier to digest. if i don’t remember something i just have to look back to a specific date and the mere date and title of the section is sometimes enough to remember what i need. i can follow through.

i can process the plot and the characters over the course of the day, so by the next day the mental picture i have is easier and easier to build, and the plot is not an intimidating whole but a new short update on what i already know, just as unintimidating as fanfic is for me.

attempting to write fanfic also helped me appreciate the difference between just narrating actions and actually conveying sensations/feelings/thoughts etc. you know, that whole show, don’t tell thing. im not good at writing yet but i can tell now when i read something that’s better than what i could have attempted. i can even spot nice metaphors and word use in songs. i now am able to point at fragments in dracula that i liked and where i felt i actually was in the place and time being described, or sentences that communicated with me beyond what the words mean on their own.

my relationship with language is different. and i love that. it’s like an entire door just opened to me.

over the summer i read a novel for my german class, one chapter a week. it had the same effect as dracula daily. i turned the main character from a stranger into a blorbo and the whole experience was improved. today i also read The Pit and the Pendulum, by Poe. and it took effort but i understood it. not just that. i got it. i felt it. we supposedly read that story in high school english lit class, but i don’t remember doing it. i don’t remember anything we read. that was the past and something is different now.

and now that i know it’s possible to read and connect with what i’m reading, i know steps i can take to read more things even if it’s not fanfic or something short. that idea alone has filled me with such hope.

when dracula daily is over i’ll be less afraid to go look for a novel to read. and maybe this time i’ll enjoy myself and actually finish it. hopefully.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ofmd fave game

was tagged by @biceratops7 a while ago and have been working on this on and off since then!!

fave ed gif

ok anything were ed's massive peepers are on display. the little huff and pout after stede tells him to stand down is maybe my favorite ed moment in the entire fucking show but i picked three different gifs bc i couldn't help myself:

fave stede gif

idk i don't go crazy of stede gifs the way i do ed gifs and also the tumblr gif search sucks. but this gif of stede having a Dom Moment in his pink robe and frilly nightgown is so personal to me:

fave stede outfit

i am a men's tit's appreciator first and a human being second

fave ed outfit

the full leather look absolutely gave me permanent brain damage but this look specifically makes me drool. first of all we can see both of ed's arms, which is always a plus (also symbolically letting his guard down?? showing off a different side of himself??? being more vulnerable??????). then there's the fact that the neck of this shirt is SO WIDE. lots of skin showing. 10/10. and the accessories, the gold chains (sexy) and THE CRAVAT HE STOLE FROM STEDE (hanging out with his old mate jack but wearing something that belongs to stede, almost like how his heart? belongs to stede??? maybe????). it's a sexy look and also represents how there's a LOT going on with ed. his character is developinnggg

fave blackbonnet song

ok big lame loser moment but i dont usually have blorbo daydreams to songs. my brain rarely makes those connections. i have seen a lot of ppl talking about their favorite blackbonnet songs but my brain mostly associates songs from the show itself with them.

i will say tho that my favorite song from the show to apply to blackbonnet and cry over is Perfect Day by Lou Reed. bc like:

you made me forget myself??? i thought i was someone else???? someone good?????? YOU JUST KEEP ME HANGING ON?????

OW?????

fave ofmd fic trope

reunions where they're in a screaming match or where stede is rambling and ed is being really cold and distant and in the middle of stede's dialogue he just drops the fact that he's in love with ed real casually like it's something ed already knows because he thinks it is and ed's brain just short-circuits because he did not know that and he can't even believe it like that just does not compute, what the hell, why is stede still talking what is he even saying nothing else fucking matters except he loves me he loves me he loves me stede loves me

ed or stede's hair

ed's hair no question. stede's curls are iconic but the long salt-and-pepper hair has life changing for me. and also for stede probably.

longest you've gone between rewatches

probably not much more than two months?? i don't keep track of my rewatches lol. i dont even know how many times i've watched this show. Many Times. i feel like im due for another one, actually!

hiding in the ship lucius vs ghost lucius

hiding in the ship pretending to be a ghost, obvi. giving ed ghost therapy. sneaking around the secret passages and haunting izzy.

fave revenge crew member

frenchie my best friend frenchie i would die for you

tagging people:

@wearfinethingsalltoowell @batsarebetterthanpeople @meanmisscharles and whoever wants to!!

[swagging-back-to]

im going to hit my post limit just by talking about fairy tail so im going to make a master list of all my silly little thoughts

Why the hell isnt natsu automatically listed as an s class? Actually tho real talk why?

omfg happy is so cute i forgot how cute he is

i would love juvia if she wasnt so fucking crazy and also i kind of claimed gray as my "blorbo" back when i was ten and im a territorial wolf that pisses on everything that i own

rewatching it now tho gray looks more like a frog than L does lollll

also she isnt even really her own character which is sad but yeah she's annoying im sorry (not actually)

leave it to shounen to make obnoxious monologs literally every five seconds from both the heroes and the villains (notice how it's only ever the heroes who are five seconds from death, too, how convenient.)

also all of the whole feral drgon magic fanfics used to seem cringe but this one line from gajeel is driving e up the wall rn "who are you? you smell weird" he was able to smell loke/leo's inhuman nature immmmediately. they primal af

i forgot how insanely well written leo is

LOL ThE SCENE WITH NATSU SCREAMING After ERZA IS LIKE "you have a power deep inside you... unleash it for me... *fake dies*" IS SENNNNDING ME

also wowie erza is a total baddie she's been on deaths door like five times in the past two minutes and yet she keeps getting up to fight

speaking of erza and continuing my "there should be actual death and injury" rant,how the ACTUAL FUCK do her swords do no real damage? her swords are basically like bats because all they do is BLUNT FoRCE. they do not slice. they do not cut. they do not impale. THis guy's fucking ghost magic impales more than erza's CIRCLE OF SWORDS

lucy is a badass too actually wtf did i sleep through her entire scene confronting gajeel? she looked death in the face with a smile and a laugh

(gajeel hate group meeting starts now)

gajeel needs to stop being a nasty annoying dog for five seconds i beg

honestly i dont ship grevy anymore because levy doesn't deserve a piece of shit like gajeel. luvy (lucy x levy) 110% oh also fuck natsu x lucy fr i've always hated that pairing (in case you dont know i am a gratsu truther)

what the fuck even is a breath attack for an iron dragon supposed to be PLEASE make sense for five second

leave it to shounen to be like "im going to kill this character!" character b; "noooo! i couldnt stand seeing them lose, i'd lose all respect!"

the scene where natsu is showing off the job he wants to do as a kid but he doesnt know how to read anything besides numbers is making me fucking sooob "i know all the names of food! hamburger, spaghetti, rice bowls, soup, stew! igneel taught me the letters, he really did!" like bro how fucking sad

this concludes my fairy tail masterlist for now

[theguardianace]

tell me ur pjsk thoughts <333

yknow what i talk about the blorbos so much i want to ramble about gameplay first. its a game of music so obviously they put a lot of work in sound design, right? the way that the different degrees of note sound slightly different (perfect is a sharp, crisp sound, great is softer, good is dull, etc) is both a useful audio indicator for experienced players to measure how well they are doing in a combo/all perfect attempt but also a way to keep less experienced players engaged with variety! also the background music slaps so hard you'll be watching a silly little play by some gay little theater clowns and the most banger of epic orchestras is playing in the back. this is my favorite it plays during a scene where rui makes the funniest little aaaaauuuuuuu!!!!! when he (the villan) is defeated. i had to put down my phone for a second. it's also a soundtrack that really fits the vibes of each of the units songs are used for! oh and actually playing games is quite fun, too. i feel like i should mention i actually like to play the game. i spend a lot of time doing that. according to the game i have played 3246 shows. i have done over a thousand of those shows with rui as the leader. i have a card for him for every type completely maxed out. hes also like 10 character levels higher than everyone else. i dont have a favorite..... this is not about shows uhhhh something i really appreciate about sekai is how creative the beat maps are! the law evading rock map is both super fun to play but also mirrors the original 2dmv!! oh and traffic jam during a part in the master chart there's green holds and then red flicks mirroring the 2dmv as well! and the salamander chart has a little cloud shaped hold for the "fuu" like blowing on hot noodles! and the once upon a dream during the "this world is full of strange, irregular things" or however the lyric translates the holds are funky shapes! there's so so so so so so many little references and they all fit so well.

ok i think that's enough about like. playing the game. anyways blorbos are amazing rui the aromantic gender stealing king and his little troupe of aroace idiots i love them so much they do so much for eachother and simply being hwere they are now shows so much growth from their pasts. tsukasa in a place where he can learn to be the star he's always dreamed of and he has friends who genuinely care about him and he's no longer lonely and he learns so much about being a better person and aaaa. emu's card stories hurt so bad cause those are the ones she mentions her grandpa in most. one story she had wxs decorate pxl for christmas and she climbed like a two story tall tree to put some lights up and she was like this is what me and grandpa did :) and then wehn they put the lights down she climbed the tree again and looked up to the clouds and thought about how she was closer to her grandpa from up there and she hopes he's proud of how much fun she's having with her new friends. he is proud emu. she's the best girl ever shes always painted as sunshine and bubbles and she is all wonderhoy yay happy but she has emotions too yall she's learning how to express those not so happy emotions and im proud of her for it. nene is the best she's so skilled i love how she gets very sharp tounged around those she's safe with and how much she cares about these new friends and how she's learned to not only become more confident in herself but how to be a teammate and yeah. nene. dont even get me started on rui. this dude. he's been so lonely. middle school rui breaks me he just needs a friend and now he's in a place where he's not only allowed but embraced for who he is. hes weird and dramatic and thats why hes awesome. and he cares! so ! much! all the safety he puts in and how much he considers everyone in the troupe for his plans and ajajfkdjfklasjfkljdsakfjdsaklfjksaljfklsdjfklasdjkf he loves his friends so much he made an entire sekai inside sekai about it. and inside the sekai were mini wxs and they went to the moon (literally) beacuse of him and they wanted him to stay. not to be cast out. to stay. thats how he feels about his friends. accepted. amazing.

[jesterjamz]

its been like 2 hours. but anyways can you elaborate on your blorbo story

of course of course let me explain all 4 seasons in excruciating detail (under the readmore)

SEASON 1!!!! (the first season)

season 1 of the expeditions of author (which i will refer to as TEoA from now on) is, of course, the first season. there might be a few easter eggs here & there but for the most part nothing TOO lore-important happens in this season. we are here establishing main characters & having author get used to their new powers.

in the other post i completely forgot to mention the bunga gems. the bunga gems are these 8 gems that are like really powerful & shit. even just 1 of the bunga gems is enough to give you like superhuman powers. despite being a powerful overlord, h does need all 8 bunga gems in order to destroy humanity. & author needs all 8 bunga gems to defeat h. but there are 4 seasons so lets not worry too much about the bunga gems yet.

lets go back to author's friends. they have a best friend & her name is kittul raican (she/they/fae). other friends in their friend group include lenny keone (he/ze), jumpy campos (he/xe), blast tuhinga (he/it/dy), & rowan fisher (he/they/it/zae). allen gets incorporated into this friend group throughout the first season. jumpy has a younger brother, geist campos (he/they) who wears an eyepatch because of this disease called pink eye 2 electric boogaloo (that is not what its actually called. i dont have a name yet.)

author is scared of what their friends will think about their powers, so for the entire 1st season they are desperately trying to hide their new prophecy hero powers from their friends & their parents, except they dont have a hero disguise until like half way into the season so some of their friends may have a little suspicion on what's going on.

do you remember the bunga gems? zodiac gets a bunga gem! crazy. im sure this fact will not be plot relevant at all.

i can imagine the season 1 finale perfectly in my brain. h is causing more havoc than usual in pinewood. author puts on their cool hero disguise & sneaks out to stop him but h has a bunga gem so author gets their ass kicked & wa-pow now everyone in pinewood knows theyre a fucking. hero of the prophecy or whatever.

in one of the earlier episodes it is mentioned that h doesnt like it when people slice his horns off. they take too long to re-grow or whatever. so the heros sword is on the ground & h is about to obliterate author when guess who? its allen! they show up & grab the heros sword & something something "i'll aim for the horn" & then something something they kick h's ass together. h retreats for now but he accidentally leaves his bunga gem behind so now author has a bunga gem! sweet! also all of this was broadcasted on live television.

remember when i said zodiac had a bunga gem? turns out h was the one who gave him this bunga gem & zodiac was promised unlimited power if he found all 8 of them. so at the end of the season 1 finale zodiac is in the castle dungeon (he is a prince remmeber this.) & hes talking to some beast in a cage (this "beast" is spinner the ex-court jester & she uses any pronouns) & spinner knows who h is kinda?? which is kinda why he's tthe ex-court jester now but i digress. so spinner tells zodiac that the one bunga gem he has can be used to help him locate the other bunga gems. & zodiac does an evil grin or some shit & then the episode fades out. & that's season 1!

SEASON 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:D

its season 2 now! author has literallly nothing to hide due to their hero identity being broadcasted on live television so now everyone knows what they are (insert homophobic dog here). this season focuses more on the bunga gems for the most part. figuring out how they work & finding them etc etc yknow. by episode 18 (each season will have 20 episodes, the season finales being split up into 2 parts) author & zodiac both have 4 bunga gems each. so in episode 18 author & rosalina think that zodiac's been acting a little... mm.. suspicious lately. so they sneak to the castle & SURPRISE! zodiac has HORNS & a TAIL that look suspiciously like h's. TURNS OUT THAT ZODIAC IS H'S SON. nobody EVER suspected this. actually it will probably be hinted at throughout the season but. you probably didnt expect this so. anyway so zodiac notices author & rosalina & he has a cool villain song that he sings & then author & rosalina get stuck in the castle dungeon.

season 2's finale is basically a revolution. the people of pinewood are sick of having a monarchy. what fucking town has a monarchy in 2021. so they revolt! unfortunately, author isnt there to help considering they are stuck in the dungeon, & even more unfortunately, zodiac has almost god-like powers. author is in the dungeon & you remember spinner right? theyre in the dungeon? there is also another person in the dungeon & her name is mika (she/her)! this will probably be hinted at during the season but mika used to be a investigator & she thought the queen was a little sus so she was investigating her & so the queen, like any suspicious person would, threw mika into the dungeon.

author still has their phone though! but its at like 1 percent battery so they just like send a group text to their friends that just says "HELP. IN CASTLE DUNGEON" & it sends & then the phone dies so like. hopefully their friends receive that text.

long story short author, rosalina, mika, & spinner end up getting freed from the dungeon & then author & zodiac have a cool fight & because of main character powers, author wins. they have a sword up to zodiac's chest & theyre about to kill him but he teleports away at the last second & theyre just like "oh. hes gone.". also the queen dies or something but i cant decide if i want her death to be on-screen or not. & that's season 2!

i am a ltitle tired & also teal is live right now so remind me tomorrow & i'll explain season 3 & 4 ok :]

[wizard-finix]

I posted 855 times in 2022

That's 330 more posts than 2021!

9 posts created (1%)

846 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/mmmn-thristy-for-vinegar

@/sanshofox

@/princekirijo

@/kokorozo

@/crescentfool

I tagged 610 of my posts in 2022

Only 29% of my posts had no tags

#art - 241 posts

#p3 - 229 posts

#p5 - 85 posts

#p4 - 70 posts

#fma - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#prompt where everyone at gekkoukan knows about sees as that weird club and aigis being a robot but the number one rule is to not question it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

P3 PORT TO PC LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

3 notes - Posted June 12, 2022

#4

runed scape

OH SHIT LETS GO UHHH

blorbo (fave) - hard to pick but I'll go with vicendithas for this one

scrunkly (friend-shaped char) - seiryu or thok

scrimblo bimblo (underrated) - vicendithas, literally all of the dragonkin tbh

glup shitto (obscure fave) - Mr. Mordaut or Blackstone Dragon. you can sense the theme going on here

poor little meow meow (problematic fave) - lets be honest you dont get more problematic than sliske, he was a fun villain

horse plinko (torment for fun) - world guardian, obviously

eeby deeby (send to superhell) - zaros

3 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

#3

❤️ 💥 👻 🎁 :D

YOOO THANKS FOR THE ASK :D

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

Hmmm it's hard to settle on a single line, but I think it's a tie between this one, from Stygian Ringlet (my p3/p5 fic):

Ryoji remembered that awful night on the Moonlight Bridge, when his world fell apart. The night he remembered everything and instantly wished he hadn’t.

and this one, from a Runescape fic chapter I haven't posted yet:

“You know, I was planning on a nice evening playing cards with the rest of the crew,” Jaida said, still catching his breath. “But no, here I am, stuck in the temple in the middle of the night with you and the Scourge of Wushanko herself, with the only way out being blocked by an army of cultists, mercenaries, and giant crabs.”

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

Ryuji's treatment in P5. I normally don't mind a character being comic relief, he does have some hilarious moments. The problem is that he had the potential to be a really good underdog-type character and have interesting character interactions with the others, but Atlus really did him dirty and squandered his character development by having the entire cast degrade him for the rest of the game. It worked for Yosuke in P4 because he tends to make those kinds of jabs at his friends and often brings it on himself, but it's a lot more one-sided with Ryuji. These people are supposed to be FRIENDS, guys. (I don't even need to say anything about the end of Shido's palace jfc)

(also Kawakami's social link and benefits are uncomfortable as hell so I never used them)

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

OH, THIS ONE. I DEFINITELY HAVE ONE FOR THIS QUESTION. My wildest headcanon:

Shinjiro's persona has a latent berserk ability somewhat similar to Akechi's, and absolutely no one realizes this, not even Shinjiro himself.

I will explain this one, so hear me out.

See the full post

5 notes - Posted October 20, 2022

#2

I really think Chie’s character arc and social link was wasted, like dude her awakening showed that she dealt with feelings of jealousy and comparing herself to others and it was NEVER mentioned again

7 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

im gonna cry laughing tumblr mobile hit me dead on

17 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

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