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bonefall · 8 months

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again looking over the reworked history what the hell happened with Ripwater, I wanna know. What *was* that? How did Riverclan kill it?

Oooooh, quite a request! Ripwater, Queen of the Lake, one of the episodes of BB!Po3!

Ripwater is a Wels Catfish, the largest freshwater fish in Europe. The biggest specimen EVER caught was just landed last year, in 2023, 9.4 feet long. It wasn't weighed, but smaller fish than this one have broken 300 pounds.

And it's not a good thing that we're catching so many big ones.

Wels catfish are extremely invasive across most of Europe, introduced for anglers who want to land record-setting catches. They're massive, intelligent carnivores, sometimes called the "freshwater orca" because they will lunge out of the water to catch land prey. They DESTROY the population of anything big enough to fit in its terrible mouth, including fish, amphibians, and even turtles.

They get that big from a mix of constant food and hot temperature. It's a sign that they're devastating their surroundings, and that nothing has been able to kill them for the decades it takes to get so large.

So of course, some dunderhead put them in British rivers, where they've been spreading upwards ever since. Thankfully they thrive better where it's warmer, so they're not too massive of a threat to BB's modeled regions in Northwestern England, but they're fucking coming.

Ripwater's name isn't an exaggeration. That's how they hunt. They gape their jaw and beat their fins like dragons, creating eddies and currents that suck their hapless prey in. When RiverClan names her, it's because they see her ripping the water in half. I was thinking about her recently, and came up with some new stuff. I'll take a brief break from my drafts to serve up some fragments for you.

[A gray cat with blue eyes, Lakepaw, later BB!Lakeheart, swims in bluegreen water surrounded by lilypads. Below her is the massive shadow of Ripwater, a gigantic Wels Catfish. Its eyes flash in the depths.]

SMALL RECAP OF BB!PO3: (to set the stage)

It is now a breather arc, just dedicated to some worldbuilding!

I feel pretty strongly that Po3's strength is how AWESOME of a slice-of-life arc it could have been. To this end, I removed the Kin of your Kin prophecy from it, until it's revealed only at the very end just before Cruel Season.

That's so I can focus on The Three and their adventures around the lake, without this big prophecy looming over them and making the lower-stakes conflicts look small.

Instead, the various episodes of Po3 are related to problems that their new home presents, with just a teeny bit of Sol's magical influence to spice things up.

While Lionpaw learns about the "meaning of strength" and ultimately learns a terrible lesson he will extend to his kits, and Jaypaw finds his limits and learns to prevent others from defining them for him, Hollypaw is grappling with Fire Alone and how to reconcile her grandfather's legacy with her strict dedication to the Warrior Code.

And SO we find ourselves in one of the earliest episodes of BB!Po3; Ripwater the River Demon. This is like... episode 3 or 4, it's a REALLY early one.

I'm just shuffling it around with ANOTHER RiverClan-centric episode; the Shinewater Plague. The oilspill from TNP is now going to be bumped up to Po3 so it's more about establishing Mothwing and her apprentice Willowpaw, to contrast Leafpool and her apprentice Hollypaw, before Holly swaps to being a warrior. Jaypaw completes warrior training before becoming a Cleric apprentice.

So I don't want them to be TOO close together. Maybe put Ripwater in Book 2 and have RiverClan comment that they don't really want to ask for help because of the last big event, Mistystar hates feeling indebted to ThunderClan.

After all, it could basically replace the "flood" episode from Canon Po3, which is often forgotten about anyway. I'm already having ShadowClan construct dams instead of RiverClan anyway...

ANYWAY RIPWATER

I want to start this episode off with Sol/Harry, who is unnamed, messing around near water. He has a bit of a fish motif going on that I want to establish, and I need to get him to start messing with the Clans good and early.

(Specifically his motif is going back and forth between the koi, also an invasive and notably domesticated species, and the atlantic salmon which is famous for its changing life cycle.)

The Wels Catfish is an invasive species to England, slowly making its way up the island from the South. The fish who will become Ripwater, at this point, is already HUGE but not cat-swallowing huge. She's an 80-pounder.

Sol hits her with some godly magic, which allows her to grow at a rapid rate.

The sort of thing where it wouldn't be COMPLETELY implausible. He just... helped it along.

When we get to her first true on-screen appearance interacting with RiverClan, she is nearly 300 pounds of monstrosity with a length of about 8 feet

I'm unsure how, exactly, ThunderClan comes to know of this. But I DO know that I want Hollypaw to be snooping, and heavily encouraged by her mentor Brackenfur to do so. So, somehow, SOMETHING starts going wrong across the lake and ThunderClan catches wind of it.

Thinking about it, this should probably be her first big action after swapping out of Cleric apprenticeship.

One of the few things she's missing about Clerichood is the way she could be close to Willowpaw without needing to sneak around so much. It's easier to just pass it off as "friendship" and "Clerics need to be close." Leafpool and Mothwing are a similar way.

Possibly work in that Hollypaw's also already seeing Heatherpaw in the tunnels, contrast the two things...

At this point, Hollypaw has a crush on Willowpaw, which is requited, but... it's kinda fading.

She still loves her like a friend, but she's liking Heatherpaw a lot more. It doesn't mean she doesn't CARE for Willowpaw, of course, but

Willowpaw is still IN love, and it's slowly becoming unrequited, when it didn't used to be.

And from RiverClan's POV...

The first disappearance is so sudden they have no idea what's happened. I'm planning for it to be Robinpaw.

(I go back and forth on if it's Robinpaw or Dapplepaw, but I'm leaning towards Robinpaw again, because I like Dapplenose too much to have her get killed off here.)

She went out clamming in the lake with her sisters, Lakepaw and Otterpaw, there was a swirl in the water, and that was it. She was gone.

Just like that.

She never came back up. RiverClan searched for her, following the currents, checking the shoreline, everything. It was like she vanished.

Mistystar is suspicious and doing everything in her power to figure out what happened, but... let's face it. It's the word of two apprentices, who were swimming alone, who swear Robinpaw just went under.

Misty JUST got done with the Shinewater Plague and isn't trying to make RiverClan look like it can't keep track of its own young. The most likely situation is that Robinpaw was sucked down by an undertow that the three of them were too inexperienced to recognize.

So... she's pretty adamant about not sharing this information until Robinpaw's body is found. Jaws Style. "We cannot let the other Clans be alarmed by this, else they might meddle in our affairs..."

(and she's still maybe a little paranoid that some snoop in another Clan is going to find out that Leopardstar wasn't killed by a rogue, y'know.)

I don't want it to be TOO much of a bloodbath, so I'm capping Ripwater's body count at three and just aiming for two deaths total.

I'm also going for a coincidence RiverClan is going to interpret as a pattern; this happens a lot, specifically, when they're hunting Freshwater Pearl Mussels.

Ripwater doesn't like the river as much as she likes the lake, but it has nothing to do with their clamming. They're just going to interpret it as such.

Anyway.

The next one she goes after was lucky. By some stroke, she opens her jaw, and the victim is able to grab onto something before they're sucked in. (Maybe toss in something here were it was Holly who was able to help save them.)

Since the WHOLE Po3 Apprentice Generation is going to be getting more focus, there needs to be more input from the RiverClan apprentices. Lakepaw and Otterpaw obviously need time here, but I also NEED to involve Ripplepaw, to establish how he's going to be seen as one of the strongest in RiverClan by OotS.

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE AS I FIGURED STUFF OUT:

It was Ripplepaw, Otterpaw, and their two mentors on a raft who were attacked next. They were fishing for mussels in a shallower part of the lake.

Otterpaw was tethered to the raft with a flax lead, so it wouldn't float off. Or just tugging it in her mouth. Either way she had a line.

When Ripwater attacks her, she is swallowed on the line like a worm on a hook

And it starts pulling the WHOLE RAFT down, just a crummy bundle of sticks

One of the mentors started shouting to cut the line, else it would drag all of them under, but Ripplepaw dives right down to beat its ass without telling them he's not gonna cut it

Hollypaw just rushed right in, didn't think about it, forgetting she was supposed to be trying to sneak around

Taking control as the natural leader she is, she ordered them to shut up and start pulling the opposite way

Underwater, Ripplepaw braced himself against the fish's lips, grabs Otter's tether, and YANKS

Abovewater, the adult warriors are pulling together, Holly grabs the raft and pulls too

Once their paws touch the bottom of the shallows it's over, one last HEAVE-HO and POP!

Otterpaw is FREE

And when it's finally known that the apprentices weren't mistaken, there's a monster in the water, THAT'S when the debate really starts up. Mistystar does NOT want ThunderClan meddling, and she'll already be pissed off that Hollypaw (and any OTHERS who tagged along with her, I wouldn't put it past Honeypaw to wriggle her little yellow butt into a later draft, or Lionpaw for his massive strength) witnessed something that's not her business.

There's a moment from canon I desperately want to keep; where Squirrelflight comes to fetch her daughter.

(more reason to just say this is replacing The Flood Episode from canon lmao)

It's such an interesting moment, and so forgotten. In a nutshell, Squilf is both furious and concerned that her kit went missing and meddled in another Clan's affairs, but... understands the impulse.

Because it's something she would have done.

So when she scolds Hollypaw, there's this aching feeling that she's scolding a younger version of herself. Calling her arrogant and disloyal, that an apprentice's opinions mean less, and that she needs to listen to "older and wiser" warriors within her own Clan.

In BB, I want to do something big with this. Firestar is the figurehead of Fire Alone, who encouraged Hollypaw's behavior through his deputy, Brackenfur, who he set as her mentor for a reason.

But Squirrelflight is being abused. By Brambleclaw.

This is one of the lowest points in Squirrelflight's life, and she is walking a line between self-worth, the warrior code, and her personal beliefs, just like her daughter is.

SO, since I'm already using Brambleclaw's enabling of Ashfur's physical abuse as one of the contributing factors to Hollyleaf's descent, I ALSO want to show how he acts on other characters.

Brambleclaw, Clan Culture, the pressures of their strength-obsessed social system. So it's gotta be Squirrelflight that reminds her, or even plants the seed in her head;

"What you did isn't consistent with the Warrior Code."

Maybe even have Mistystar herself state this earlier, to be echoed by Squirrelflight, offering an alternate perspective to Hollypaw. Make her realize that ThunderClan's political leanings are not universal or even popular.

But when Hollypaw comes back to ThunderClan, whoever set her to be a snoop wants her to spill the beans. This is also a big WIP part, as Hollypaw struggles with if she's going to obey or not, and I still need to set all the political "players" in this moment.

I know for sure, though, that Firestar's IMMEDIATE desire is to meddle like it's an episode of Scooby-Doo. Though he's savvy enough to be smart about how he phrases it and what actions he takes, his ultimate goal is to put his little cheeto-dust paws all over this. And Hollypaw is starting to question how appropriate that actually is.

This is where it starts to really be a rip in Holly's mind. Clans aren't JUST big, blanket groups with united opinions, they're collections of individuals. Mistystar doesn't want meddling, but Willowpaw is in danger. Otterpaw and Lakepaw went all that time without being believed, after they watched their sister die, because they're lowly apprentices like her. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are angry and disappointed, while Firestar and Brackenfur are secretly lathering her in praise.

Now imagine me standing in front of a big board where I'm writing ??? because there's a missing chunk here.

I need to connect THIS part to what comes next, which is where ThunderClan DOES come in and help out. Here's the thought process going on in RiverClan;

Willowpaw comes in to do something important. She adores Hollypaw, knows her value as a Cleric, and knows that StarClan can sway Mistystar.

I want her to have a couple of pieces of a vision... BUT. She decides to interpret it in a way that's convenient, and add a few details.

It's not a tooootal lie lmao. It's just 75% true.

This is the true power of Clerics, when they realize it. No one can actually challenge them without just ignoring them or stripping them of power. They are accountable to StarClan alone.

A mentor simply doesn't say this out loud to their apprentice. It's a quiet secret. And Willowpaw just realized it.

and thinking about it... this should be the thing that finally breaks the budding romance Holly and Willow had. Holly is sickened by this, when Willow confesses how she convinced RiverClan to work with ThunderClan.

But, without even being a full Warrior, the apprentice leverages her power as Cleric of RiverClan, and 200 skill points of Improv Acting, to tell them these things;

"StarClan is so angry with us that they've sent a hog to the water! It's why they've sent a ThunderClan apprentice, we must work with them to eliminate the beast that lurks in our waters. With spears and plans, we must hunt it honorably!"

(Mistystar is defensive, but it's not known why) "We haven't disobeyed StarClan in any way. We'd already accepted their help once before, when sickness drove us to weakness, and it's only let them think they can disrespect our borders as they please. This can't be the holy will of our ancestors."

"It's-- We've been disrespecting this bountiful new land that they've so generously given us. That's what the pile of shells in my dream was. Think about it! The last attack was on the shore where we collect mussels. The second attack was on a cat latched to a raft, and it was only the tether that saved them. And the first..."

IVE GOT AN IDEA, Robin, Lake, and Otter WEREN'T clamming when they were attacked. She gestures over to Lake, knowing that if she doesn't back her up, the theory crumbles.

(Otter is in the Cleric's den, unconscious.)

Lake hesitates, not wanting to lie. Willow jumps back in,

"It's why Otterpaw was attacked," does those little jazz-hands to be like 'come in bitch work with me,' "And it's why Lakepaw has to be involved in killing it, to end what she started, and appease StarClan."

Lakepaw more like I LIKE-what-you-just-saidpaw, "It's true, we were so ashamed to admit it, Mistystar, this is all MY fault, I wanted my siblings to dig up mussels, PLEASE let me atone by stabbing the fish to death"

AND AFTER THAT IT'S NOODLIN' TIME

Mistystar, begrudgingly, accepts Firestar's help, or perhaps reaches out to him. Ripwater is a "Hog in the Lake," a beast too big for them to kill honorably on their own.

ThunderClan is the ONLY Clan that uses spears, and only for boar hunts. To protect themselves and to give their quarry a quicker death.

No other Clan touches weapons for dishonor reasons, as they're heavily associated with the demon Shredtail.

I should have Willowpaw explain her half-truth to Hollypaw here, and it's where Hollypaw just... so very suddenly can't look at Willowpaw the same way.

Jaypaw would definitely face an ableist moment from someone, but it's going to have to be one of those times where he accepts that there IS a very real limit to his ability here. Spears are range-weapons and his whiskers don't reach that far. He can't tell where he's stabbing, and the water is going to make it too hard to smell where Ripwater's dangerous mouth is. He can't be chosen for this hunt.

Meanwhile Lionpaw learns from Willowpelt how to make a spear and it is one of the most satisfying things he's ever done in his life, he's like "this is so awesome oh my god i love weapons"

just gently setting up that he's going to eventually become ThunderClan's head of hunting, and also that he's a lil violent

I feel like him and Lakepaw should hit it off a little because they both think the idea of stabbing a fish in the face is super cool, only for someone to growl at them that they shouldn't be enjoying themselves so much

Maybe Blackclaw, fuck that guy

(absolute tangent but BB!Lionblaze is kind of evolving into a little dork and I love that for him. Local himbo only capable of making friends or enemies, all Clanwide opinions on him are polarized, more at 11)

THE PLAN

So how DO they kill that thing? First of all, it's all about strategy.

Immediately they started making a couple of specialized spears. Most spears they make are exclusively for boar-hunting, so they have a distinctive "lug" that prevents a boar from impaling itself down the shaft to get you.

Someone in RiverClan explains that you don't want a fish having the chance to get off a claw. If Ripwater escapes, they might not find her again until she kills someone else

The solution is that these need to be custom-made, with special claw-shaped prongs, so they're chevron ^ shapes instead of tear-drop points. They stab in, and don't pull out.

So they need to make spears from scratch, which is an intensive process, and they don't have time to waste. RiverClan doesn't want to hunt by water that has a chance of having a freshwater orca spawn and drag you in; they'll starve

And there's only so many artisans in TC that can MAKE spears. Glue, twine, shafts, blades... these are all things that take hours of labor to create.

And MORE IMPORTANTLY, they realized from the Raft Rescue that a tether, attached to a floating object, can be very useful. Each weapon has rope tied through it and is tethered to a raft-- which is even MORE intensive, RiverClan had to repurpose several nets to create so many lines, and they only own three rafts, so the rest have driftwood.

So they only have time to create 3 special water-spears, and bring in 2 modified boar-spears.

Lionpaw is like visibly disappointed he can't have one lmao

The only apprentice given a spear is... Lakepaw. And it's a boar-spear

Because she's gonna be bait. They believe the litter is cursed for their "sin" and she'll be the next target.

But still, they chum up the water near the last sighting with blood and crowfood, like hog slop, and wait.

(Heavy WIP stuff here as we get to a play-by-play I haven't fully figured out yet)

Their plan is to get it on the shore as quickly as possible.

Four cats could pull Otterpaw from its mouth, so 5 spearcats and a dozen strong warriors could pull it onto the shore. Surely.

shorely.

It comes as expected, lunging at Lakepaw. She leaps back and tries to use her spear on it, but she is NOT properly trained with it, she stabs its face, but can't break the skull

RiverClan manages to toss a net at the beast, but it's NOT heavy enough

And they managed to get LAKEPAW with it, pressing her to the beast, her spear is dropped into the water

Someone shouts that it swims like an eel, able to just reverse course unlike a REAL fish which must turn

In the panic, warriors start mobbing it.

she thrashes, and splashes and the net is barely holding her back at all

She smashes a warrior with her tail, buffs another with her powerful head

She's stabbed in her side by a ThunderClan warrior (probably Sandstorm), and she turns on the raft they're standing on, breeching and SMASHING it to bits. Lionpaw and the rest of the cats on this raft get dunked

In the water, ThunderClan cats are useless, and RiverClan cats can't properly handle spears.

Someone from RiverClan, probably Blackclaw, tries to free Lakepaw but is scooped up in Ripwater's mouth.

He's screeching and yowling and trying to hold onto its upper jaw, regularly cut off as she dives under

When Willowpelt gets her spear in, she holds onto that damn stick with her LIFE, getting swung around and dunked in the water and then going back up into the air

Thornclaw, holding the other boar-spear, aims for its tail

But it's not enough; Even with several warriors of RiverClan, five spears, a net, and the weight of the two remaining rafts, Ripwater's managing to pull them towards the depths

She's too big to bite, too large to claw, and too strong to hold down

LIONPAW TIME

He grabs the spear that Lakepaw dropped

Ripplepaw seems to zoom right passed him, running away from the fish. He thinks he must be some kind of coward, the fight's NOT OVER YET!! WE NEED TO HELP LAKEPAW

(In a later draft I might have Lionpaw be on the smashed raft, and Ripplepaw brings the spear to him before turning and bolting back to shore. Either way he doesn't explain himself)

He paddles near one of the rafts, and is pulled up onto it

Firestar calls him a WONDERFUL BOY for bringing the spear

Lionpaw mumbles something enthusiastic around the stick in his mouth, wriggles his butt, and jumps back into the water

Grabbing the net sticking to Ripwater and using it like tree bark, he pulls himself on

Bites the spear by the lug like a handle

And stabs it in like a knife

But it's already starting to pull out, too shallow

Filled with anger and resolve, he bites the shaft, and PUSHES

Harder and harder and harder until there's a crackle, the twine breaks loose, and the lug snaps

The rest of the spear slips in as if Ripwater's made of butter

Figuring that's probably deep enough, he lets go of the net, breaching the surface, sputtering and hacking

He's about to dive again to go get Lakepaw, but to his surprise, she breaks the water next to him

and then he feels the fish bump his paws

His name is called from the shore, and there's Hollypaw and Ripplepaw waving. Ripplepaw TOOK HIS SPEAR'S ROPE. Like a GUY WHO THINKS.

Now there was a team of cats on the shore, all the spent warriors who got thrown off, pulling Ripwater to the shore.

And from the feeling of slimy fish under his paws, it seemed like her fight had been all but spent.

And more cats were swimming to shore now, with the ropes attached to the other spears.

Once on the shore, they're able to discover that, tragically, Blackclaw has died. Mistystar in particular looks deeply torn by this, as their relationship was notoriously toxic. But still, he had been the father of her children, and drowned trying to save a Clanmate. She jumps up onto the massive fish, giving a speech about sacrifice, how Blackclaw and Robinpaw would be honored, and that RiverClan has learned its valuable lesson.

Ripwater was symbolic; it's the greed they had unleashed upon the lake by over-exploiting one resource. From now on, they would be respectful of StarClan's bounty. She thanks ThunderClan for helping to fulfill a prophecy, and offers that their debt be repaid by splitting the meat of the hunt.

Hollypaw, internally: "Oh she's doing that on purpose. She knows ThunderClan hates fish and it would be rude to refuse."

Firestar: "well. how could we refuse."

Sandstorm, quietly, in the distance: "easily actually ew"

CLOSING STUFF

I kinda want some kind of "epilogue festival" where the two Clans legitimately celebrate with a somewhat somber meal sharing. Some of these episodes in Po3 will result in lasting traditions and holidays that are celebrated annually.

At that little "fish festival," it works for Holly to officially break it off with poor Willow, to leave this episode off on a bit of a sad note.

This was one of the first times Lionpaw's power becomes obvious, and it's the sort of thing that wasn't really noticed. I figure it would be good for Lakepaw to ask how that lug snapped, she could barely even get the spearhead in. Lionpaw just brags and says it must be because he's SUPER STRONG.

For some reason he's just making a ton of friends whenever I write these out, I think I'm going to lean into it. Lionpaw's got friends when he's a kid lmao, starts losing them over time as he gets more violent.

It's probably because I really need a comic relief in The Three's dynamic. Hollypaw is very dramatic, Jaypaw is dealing with legitimately stressful social issues, and Lionpaw is violent. Someone has to lighten the mood up a little and it's probably because he's The California Girl himself lmao

At this fish festival he also discovers fish isn't actually that bad. Everyone's being weird about this. It's not really that slimy. It's got a strong taste but that's kinda nice, actually?

Could use some berries but like... "damn why don't we do this more often. this would go great with blackberries."

Ripplepaw: "You think so? I can taste sweetness, can I try to make it at home and tell you how it works out at the next Gathering?"

Lionpaw: "It's not hard, you just mash the berries and stew them in a little water before pouring it over your meat. I learned it from Willowpelt, she's got a mad sweet tooth."

Lakepaw: "No offense Lionpaw, but I always thought you were a total lunkhead. I never thought you'd like, cook?"

Lionpaw: "I mean not really, I'm an awful cook, I can just make simple stuff. Willowpelt's just nice enough to be patient with me, my mentor Ashfur says if I can learn something anyone can, haha."

Just a nice little moment for him.

Blackclaw is being mourned in the mortal plane, but secretly, getting a SCATHING trial up in StarClan. His death was heroic, but his ENTIRE LIFE was treacherous.

From teaching Hawkfrost to follow in his father's pawsteps, to joining him in WindClan's Civil War, and his constant arguing and undermining of Mistyfoot back when she was just a deputy trying to do the right thing.

He goes on trial for a bunch of things he did in TigerClan, too, facing his victims who took his misdeeds to their graves. He's not the only cat in RiverClan who is getting a review like this.

Leopardstar is already in the Dark Forest, and soon, Blackclaw's sent there too.

I decided to kill off Blackclaw here so he could have a VERY cool Land Mar;

(context: all Dark Forest demons now get a cool little evil playset area just for them, where they spawn into after they're thrown out of StarClan. These are called Land Mars)

It's still unnamed, but it's basically an even BIGGER Ripwater. It goes above and below the river and lakes of the Dark Forest, popping up in any body of water big enough to hold her.

#better bones au #Land Mar #Ripwater #BB!Po3 #Better Bones AU #BB!Lakeheart #BB!Willowshine #BB!Hollyleaf #Fallenleaf #Wels Catfish #I NEED to make an art tag for my partner #Gamer-the-kittypet art #THEIR SUGGESTION NOT MINE

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theflyingkipper · 4 months

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a short crappy essay about emily

The writing of girl characters in TTTE genuinely infuriates me. There’s a lot of girl characters who were done absolutely dirty, but it always comes back to Emily for me.

Emily had agency and attitude and purpose in S8-12 and it was erased in favor of a “hi. I’m nice. Im the girl character” nothing one-note personality. What do we know about post HiT era Emily? (And honestly, S7 Emily too. Her introduction is kind of weak in my opinion). She wants to help out. She’s safety oriented. She’s… I don’t know. You could replace her with Rosie or Rebecca or whoever in the cgi episodes where she’s driving the story, and nothing would change. I can’t name any major differences between Emily post-rewrite and Rosie in her entire tenure. Aside from how they’re introduced to Thomas and interact with him, really… which sucks. They don’t have major differences in characterizations outside interacting with a male lead.

AND the worst part is that there are moments where you can SEE they were crafting bold, interesting girl characters and they were either completely sanitized or forgotten about. Molly has a very particular basis. It's not a flashy type where the engine’s basis is the center of the character’s entire personality/marketing/etc (Mighty Mac and Hank come to mind). It feels clear to me that Molly was going to be more important. And then… she wasn’t. She appeared like 3 times, said nearly nothing and never appeared again. I wish I lived in a world where Emily kept her bossy personality and had this contrasted by Molly’s shyness and timidity.

In my perfect world, Emily is bossy and important, and has some complexes about not needing help or knowing more than others. She’s intelligent and rambunctious, feeling like she’s made for more than the fast express duties that she was designed for. She wants to be involved and get dirty. (Which is a sentiment that I think a lot of young girls can relate to!) Maybe this causes other engines to view her as childish, but we know it's because even if she’s an old design- she has youthful zeal. I think that's a compelling personality and character to make from a Stirling Single, rather than just making another “old wise sage” character (we’ve got plenty of those and in different flavors!) An old engine that's hard to register as “old” at all, though not like Edward, she reads like this because she’s childish and immature- Someone immature, but in a distinct flavor of immature than Percy or Gordon. This Emily has so much room to bounce off other characters, and she does. The way she acts in Respect for Gordon comes to mind. Emily’s bossiness brings a much needed shakeup to the monotony of seasons 8-12.

In addition, big, snooty, important characters are a staple of TTTE, but it's an archetype almost exclusively reserved for male characters. You could make an argument that Daisy and Elizabeth support these, but I think they’re different (or underdeveloped) enough not to fit this. Emily is the exception here. I think it's why she’s remembered so well as the female TTTE character that immediately comes to mind. Emily could be great, and she was great.

#the promised rant #theres a lot more i wanted to say but i needed to keep this on track #ttte emily #thomas the tank engine #kips cant shut up

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aroaceleovaldez · 8 months

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random question but i came across a post of yours where you talked about how mark oshiro sort of erased an aspect of nico's ADHD by making a joke about how he only liked mythomagic cards because he's gay and there are hot guys on the cards, and then TSATS also seemed to really downplay the themes of neurodivergence in the series. and it made me wonder if you have any thoughts on how the show has portrayed the demigods' ADHD and dyslexia so far? i've seen some people say that the show also downplayed it a lot, and i'm inclined to agree... which feels really weird considering that rick's own son's neurodivergence was specifically a major inspiration for him writing the series. but if i recall correctly a lot of scenes showcasing that in the first book were taken out of the show.

Oh absolutely, a lot of scenes and general discussion about adhd/dyslexia were removed in the show (and some of the disability-coding in general - i appreciate the change they made with making Chiron disabled based on his mythos rather than just using a wheelchair as a disguise, but i wish they had kept Grover's crutches in a similar manner honestly) - I've made a couple of posts discussing it: here, here, and this reblog is relevant to my opinions about the matter. There's probably some other stuff in my pjo tv crit tag.

I think the main sentiment i have regarding it - which i've seen a couple of other people mention as well - is how much the show ignores or outright removes and downplays Percy's personal struggles with his disabilities to instead emphasize Sally's experiences instead, particularly in manners of her taking out her stress on Percy - which alongside being completely antithetical to Sally's role in the books, is pretty ableist and why I continually compare show!Sally to Autism Speaks Parents. Autism Speaks tends to make an emphasis on the struggles of the parents of autistic children rather than treating autistic individuals like a person experiencing their own struggles. One of the major points of Sally's character (and later Paul) in the books is that she's an incredibly accommodating parent and works hard to make sure Percy is supported when he's struggling with his disabilities, because he's not been able to find that accommodation elsewhere. That's part of why Sally is such a great mom in particular, and is intentionally supposed to directly contrast Annabeth's home life struggles with her parents having difficulty navigating how to provide that same level of accommodation to help support her (and how Annabeth finds that accommodation at CHB instead, because that's the metaphor that CHB is supposed to represent - an appropriately accommodating system they can rely on, and then exploring how that's still a flawed system and looking at how disabled kids/demigods fall through the cracks and how to change the system to better support them).

The show also almost completely ignores Percy's ADHD/dyslexia experiences in general after the first episode. I was honestly really happy with, in the first episode, how clearly Percy's poor experiences in the American education system, particularly relating to his neurodivergence, have informed his reaction to situations such as people trying to tell him he's a demigod in coded language. It was essentially the perfect update to something i've discussed in the past here, about how the original "all demigods have adhd/dyslexia because it's secretly SUPERPOWERS" thing was presented as the basis for the series and why that teaching/parenting style fell out of favor. We see Percy in e1 acknowledge how dismissive of his struggles it is to constantly just be told he's "special" - and we even get explicit acknowledgement of how that description is used aggressively and for ostracization (from Nancy), which is extremely true to the experiences of kids who grew up with that teaching/parenting structure. But then we get to episode 2 and... all the acknowledgement of ADHD/dyslexia/etc is gone. We get at most a one-off acknowledgement from Luke that demigods are all neurodivergent and that's it. Pretty much nothing else for the entire rest of the season, save for flashback scenes that only emphasize Sally's experiences, not acknowledge Percy's. No further acknowledgement of Percy's dyslexia, or Annabeth's, or anything about their ADHD, or even Percy's completely removed PTSD (which we know for sure because of both writer commentary [see: that second post i linked about the LA Times article] and Percy's total lack of reaction to Mr. D). Nothing.

It was extremely disheartening to say the least, having such a strong start and it evaporating completely, and I fully agree with you.

#pjo #percy jackson #riordanverse #pjo tv #pjo tv crit #adhd #Anonymous #ask #long post //#ask to tag

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stopper-my-heart · 3 months

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Let's break down the sequence at the end of Heartstopper S1E2 and beginning of S1E3 -- in which Nick is working on coming to terms with the fact that he likes Charlie and Charlie is a boy -- focussing on Nick.

The whole sequence masterfully sets up our understanding of Nick and his headspace via a series of contrasts.

Warning: This is a gif-filled long post with sadness ahead. (If you'd prefer a happier take related to this sequence, take a look at my other post about it.) CW: Short mention of some homophobic practises/issues in the world at the end (those shown in the show at the beginning of S1E3).

The sequence begins with Nick entering his room, but it's filmed through his bedroom window, i.e., from the outside looking in. We don't even clearly see his face. The next shot is of a photo on Instagram of Nick with his rugby friends. To me, this is drawing attention to the fact that Nick is on the outside of his friend group.

The photo itself offers a stark contrast to this idea: Nick is in the centre of his friends, literally being carried and supported by them. His face suggests he's thinking about how the photo doesn't represent reality. Nick is not himself with his rugby friends, and/so they don't really know him. That's not really him, and that's concerning.

There's then a brief flash of Imogen's Insta post, which is a photo of likely herself (the person's head is out of shot) and its caption is helpfully centred for us: "stay true to yourself 🥰🌸". (This deserves its own analysis tbh.) We see Nick slightly smiling at it, but we're physically very far away from him and only move incrementally closer.

Next Nick comes across Charlie's photo from their "snow day". Nick isn't in the photo, but it is a photo that he took, so although it's a public post that in a way "can't" have the two of them together in it yet, he's not completely absent from it. Nick's face is immediately much more smiley.

The comparison between Nick's reactions to the different photos hearkens back to the commentary from Nick's mum earlier in the episode (which she made, y'know, the day the photo Nick just saw was taken):

All signs point to: Nick is not true to himself with his rugby friends, (maybe a little with Imogen,) but he is with Charlie.

Back to Nick-- Seeing Charlie's photo inspires Nick to switch to his camera roll which is already scrolled to his snow day photos implying that he's looked at them another time recently to look at more photos from their snow day, prompting even more smiling and a tiny laugh. Not to mention, now Nick can finally see his genuine self in the photos he's looking at.

I've been focussing on the scenes with Nick so far, but this whole sequence goes back and forth between Nick and Charlie in their respective rooms and is set up as a contrast between them. Let's look at that comparison to understand the full picture with Nick before we continue on.

We see Charlie from a comfortable/typical-to-the-viewer angle, in contrast to our view of Nick which has been almost awkwardly straight on throughout this sequence, whether in front of or behind him.

Charlie is also relaxedly lying in his bed, directly engaging with his friend group to get their input on the situation with Nick (Charlie's on the inside), compared to Nick who is sitting on the edge of his bed, kind of hunched over his phone, scrolling through photos other people are posting (on the outside looking in, and still only looking in via photos that don't tell the full story).

There are further contrasts between them, too, of course. Charlie is confident about his sexuality while Nick is questioning, so he's not confused or scared by liking Nick the way Nick is about liking Charlie.

Charlie is instead feeling hopeful at the prospect that Nick might also be interested, and we leave him for the episode with his cautious excitement about Elle's news that Tara at least isn't into Nick.

Back to Nick-- In the past, Nick's typically experienced or thought about his feelings for Charlie when he's with Charlie or when there are other people around. But this time there's no Charlie to distract Nick from the scariness with his Charlie-ness (and the positive feelings of liking him), and there are no other people around to force Nick to abandon his thoughts or put a mask on.

So when Nick has his moment of fully acknowledging his romantic feelings for Charlie to himself and wondering if that might mean that he's gay (and if so, what does that mean for him?), the contrast with Charlie's fairly straightforward hopefulness and attentive support network highlights how alone Nick is, and with something more daunting.

But Nick is strong and brave, and he's not going to let that stop him.

It's after this that we get the same shot as the first one, from behind Nick, except now the camera is inside the bedroom with Nick and getting ever closer. Nick then even turns toward the camera at the end. The question is: Who is Nick, really, on the inside?

He's ready to find out, even if it's scary.

But because there are no people close to him that Nick could talk to about what's going on with him -- no friends Nick can reach out to about how he's feeling, he doesn't know how his mother would respond to this, Charlie is the one he's having feelings for so he can't really talk to him about it -- Nick uses what seems like the only option open to him: the internet.

And then Nick is confronted with results about violent hate crimes, conversion therapy, opposition to equal rights, discrimination, not to mention some unhelpful quizzes...so much anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment and the horrible things that that can lead to, all whilst he's having a complete identity crisis. Nick is so alone and afraid, feeling deeply confused and misunderstood -- including misunderstood by himself -- and his internet reading has not only not provided clarity or a sense of being seen, but it's even highlighted that Nick may have reasons to be afraid.

And because Nick doesn't have a support network he feels he can talk to about this, he's stuck with these feelings for now.

In conclusion: This sequence breaks my heart. (If your heart is also breaking, my related post may help heal it. Or I recommend watching Heartstopper. If your heart isn't breaking, I blame my post. Go watch the end of S1E2 and the beginning of S1E3 and then come tell me that your heart is still whole)

#Ignore the camera work Nick #You're not straight #My heart breaks for Nick Nelson #at least here #No wonder it took him a few days to ask Charlie out to Harry's party #Honestly the rainbow kiss must've been as magical to Nick as it was to me to get him from here to kissing Charlie #I mean Charlie is also magical to Nick so fair enough #I know I just did a post about this sequence but there was more #There's always more #Heartstopper #Nick Nelson #Charlie Spring #Nick & Charlie #Heartstopper analysis #Heartstopper cinematography analysis #mine

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tbhimnoteasyonmyself · 7 months

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On Tee's Lonely Grief

I've seen people talk about New's and Phee's grief, Pimpa's grief but the gang has never been considered that much on account of their guilt. This episode, however, brings attention to that. Especially in Tee's case. Especially in the scene when he finds Non dead.

And I have to say, I fucking love this scene. So I'm here to tell you why.

PS: For the sake of this post, unlike what's normally my policy, the pictures used will not be edited in any way, shape or form unless stated otherwise. I think it would be taking creative liberties with the photography and it would diminish the validity of my analysis.

So:

Tee finds Non's body upstairs with his uncle's goons (dressed in entirely black outfits which obviously invoke death) very suspiciously looming over it.

So he does what capable and strong Tee, who has to support himself and his father and his uncle's business and now Non (as we saw very clearly this episode) would do: He lashes out. He demands answers. He threatens people. Because that's how he learned to solve his issues.

Yet he gets mostly silence. Arguably, the same exact silence he initially offers the 2 other people grieving Non this episode: New & Phee.

And so he argues with his uncle, makes accusations, mirrors New in the present moment so well it's uncanny.

And then he's alone. Everyone leaves, including Non's body. And now there's no one to perform that idea of a strong ruthless guy to. Now it's just Tee. And the contrast between the act of Tee and Tee is remarkable: one moment he's cold, and the other moment he's completely broken.

So he screams, at the top of his lungs, which is interesting. Because we do see Tee cry but not much. Tee's just not a person who cries. Which, besides being very relatable, is also terrible. Why? Because crying relieves you. It helps you cope, it releases the tension from you, at least a bit. Tee not crying here means this (Non dying), unlike the guilt of what happened before with him and the gang bullying Non

(something he is allowed to shed at least a single poetic tear about) Is a burden he can't be relieved of. At least, not at that moment.

So we watch as Tee screams helplessly. And the environment is so telling. GOD, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW

There's an empty space. Virtually nothing is there with Tee. Because, of course, he's alone in the room, we know this, but he's also alone.

No one else knows this story like Tee does. No one else has been with Non when he was a creative student trying to make a film, when there was life to him in all senses of the word and also saw his dead, lifeless body. No one else has been the cause for both Non's problems and Non's death. No one has liked Non as a friend and cared for him and watched him die without being able to do anything about it. No one in Tee's life knows what he's going through, what it feels like. No one in Tee's life is able to share his grief. And he can't escape it either.

You see that weird ass mirror there? Why is it there? There are curtains around it. But it's not a window. That's odd. But while it makes no sense decoration/architectural-wise, it makes so much sense from the point of view of symbolism.

There's no escape. Even when it really feels like there should be. Because Tee, the guy with all the solutions, should be able to find a solution, shouldn't he? Besides... We come to care so much for him and for Non... So how come there's no solution? Because, we, like these teens do to adults, naively trust the narrative. Of course, there's no solution. We all knew this from the start. We're only here because of this: Non is dead.

So, instead of a way out, a hope for something better than what's going on in that room, we get just more of it. Tee and we alike, have no escape. We're both forced to face that scene, forced to accept it. And Tee, if he dares look for that way out, will only have to face himself.

But interestingly, he never does. Tee never looks at the mirror on the wall. He doesn't even acknowledge it. Which, of course, might be a reflection (pun intended) of how he tries to pass the blame of Non's death to his uncle.

He repeatedly claims he didn't know what would happen, that he wouldn't have brought Non back if he did but... Is that true? As Perth's character (BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE, btw) says:

"You already knew, right?" Because, let's face it, it was obvious. Things could only go poorly for Non if Uncle Joe got his claws on him. Tee had to know that wouldn't end well.

So this scene also tells us that, despite deep down his immense amount of guilt telling him he is guilty of Non's death, Tee doesn't want to acknowledge it. He maintains that position, in fact, nearly all the way until the end of episode Ep.11. where he slightly changes his narrative.

He never planned to.

Right now, he's a new person. One that would not make the same mistakes as in the past but that, despite the changes, is inevitably the one who somewhere in the past did make them.

But back to the scene.

Tee is framed right in front of the blueish-grey curtains and we all know what that means, I do not need to cite the ancient scrolls. But I wanna add that grey is also:

a colour associated with sadness;

seen as a colour of death, as it is literally in greyscale, hence colourless, lifeless AND because it can also be interpreted as a mix of white and black, both of which are mourning clothes colours, depending on the culture;

a reflection of Tee's grey morality because, naturally, while we understand Tee's motivations and background, he did some pretty fucked up things that his good intentions and unhelpful help attempts cannot erase.

And then Tee finds a small paper, written by Non (in vivid blue, properly highlighting not only Non's depression but also Tee's).

And the paper reads: "I'm gonna get out of this place. I'm not a loser." And it hits him even further because Non (at least in Tee's vision, I'll leave Non's death up for debate, I'm sure people will have theories) wanted so bad to be victorious once, to succeed just once. He wanted to get a chance to live normally and it didn't happen.

This, of course, ends up shaping Tee's own path, as he meets White and gets a chance to do things "right" and as he becomes this "new person" and gets away from his uncle. But, in that moment, none of that is relevant because it hasn't happened and Tee cannot know it will, he can only know, with written proof, that he failed. And now Non's dead.

And so, in the last part of this scene, we see a more zoomed-out shot. And Tee's still alone but now we have a more clear vision of just how tiny that space is. And how he's nearly taller than the frame. How his grief is bigger than the space in which it was brought to him. But also how the weight of it, represented by the walls, is nearly crushing him. Another gigantic, and perhaps the biggest of all, responsibility on Tee's shoulders.

Furthermore, as @shannankle has marvellously described and explained in this post about sex scene framing, the framing gives us a level 3 visual gaze which is used to remind us as the audience of just how intimate and profoundly shaping of Tee this moment is: we are not supposed to be here, this moment is Tee's and Tee's alone. Because, of course, he is alone. In all senses. The access we're getting is nearly forbidden. Even to the other characters. Because they don't get to see it, they only hear about it (or we assume they do).

And, to top it all off, the cherry on top of this great scene: all of this happens while Tee is wearing his school uniform. Because, of course, it had to. Because we need to be reminded: this is a teenager. Tee, who's mourning his dead friend whose corpse he just saw and whose death is largely his fault is just a teenager.

#So yes #I might hate that Phee is apparently omniscient #but BY THE UNIVERSE AND ALL OF US IN IT #do I LOVE the care and thought put into the details of this story!!!#it's so good!!#dff #dff the series #dead friend forever the series #dead friend forever #dff meta #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever ther series meta #dff the series meta #dff tee #tee dff #dead friend forever tee #tee dead friend forever #dff the series tee #tee dff the series

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missglaskin · 2 years

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Yandere (HOTD) Targaryen/Velaryon/Hightower family (together) HCS part 3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Note: Finally part 3 is here! Also, this probably is some of the longest hcs I have done. This starts from episode 3 to episode 7. Mainly platonic, but there could be a romantic pairing. Also, the reader is basically trying to keep everything from going to shit

The conflict between Alicent and Rhaenyra has persisted over the years. And you tend to find yourself directly in the heart of the fights. However with Viserys there; he’s made sure that you diverge away from their disputes. He has long accepted that his wife and daughter will never get along, but what they will not do is involve you in their conflicts.

Many children have been born throughout the years, and the two women made sure you were there for each. They secretly want you to prefer one over the other. Although you lack a dragon, Alicent and Rhaenyra made their children believe you are related to them by blood.

Similar to their mother, Jace and Luke are a bit possessive. While they can be a bit mischievous, the two typically listen to you, even more than their mother. Their faces light up when they see you and they run right up to greet you. Also, they like it when you watch them spar, asking whether they did well, grinning back when you tell them they did. While you have noticed how different the boys are, you chose not to say anything, even when Alicent argued with Viserys regarding it.

At least for the time being, Luke is the youngest of the bunch. He takes full advantage of it when the other kids are fighting for your attention. Such as pretending to be hurt so you can comfort him. It is well known that he follows you around the court and becomes agitated when you focus on someone else.

Like Criston, there’s a very similar chance that Harwin also begins to have tendencies for you. His fondness for you doesn’t go unnoticed by the court. He trusts you well enough that he isn't afraid to show affection towards Jace, Luke, and Rhaenyra. Harwin feels so strongly about you that even the smallest remark about you will prompt him to intervene.

Since they've likely spent the most time with you, Jace and Luke are the most jealous of Aegon and Helaena. Aegon and Helaena are also very attached to you. Aegon is frequently pressured by his family to fill in a role he doesn’t want. He appreciates having someone who is gentle and doesn't push him as the others do. Helaena, on the other hand, is attached to you because you're the only person who doesn't think of her as strange or give her odd looks; instead, you sit with her and listen to her go on about all the kinds of insects she has.

Aemond is a completely different case. You're used to possessiveness, but Aemond is almost always by your side. Being the second son, he is frequently overlooked or passed over in favor of his brother, never mind the fact that he is still without a dragon. Because of all the love and attention, you show Aemond, he grows quickly fond of you. Including his siblings, he is jealous of everyone. The fact that Alicent also forces particular ideas into Aemond's mind is not helpful.

Aside from Helaena- in contrast to his two brothers, Dareon is also the most pleasant. Throughout the years, he has always been gentle and sweet and has often given you the prettiest flowers as they remind him of you. Dareon had to eventually depart from King's Landing in order to go to Oldtown and serve as Lord Omund Hightower's squire. Before leaving, he embraced you and made you swear you would exchange ravens, no matter what.

You occasionally also spent time in Driftmark with Rhaenys and Corlys. Rhaenys makes you ride her dragon back and forth, as it is the fastest way to travel. There are times when you run into Daemon and Laena, and they are thrilled to see you. Likewise, Baela and Rhaena become very excited whenever they get to meet you.

Similar to the other kids, the two girls adore spending time with you. They find themselves missing you when they have to travel with their parents. Rhaena sometimes feels left out compared to her sister and enjoys any attention you give her. Baela, on the other hand, is more demanding and jealous than her sister. She often reminds you of Daemon.

Speaking of Velaryons, Laenor is content to reside in King's landing, even though he longs to return home and engage in battles. Your presence there is one of the few pleasant things he anticipates. Laenor, unlike the others, enjoys sparring with you and will gladly teach you how to fend for yourself. It's one of his favorite ways to spend time with you.

Rhaenyra has objected to the idea a few times, but when you beg her to reconsider, she eventually gives in. She has Harwin watch and Laenor promises that only wooden swords will be used. Alicent and Criston, on the other hand, are horrified at the thought of you wielding a sword even if it’s wooden, and possibly hurting yourself.

Criston develops a rivalry with Harwin regarding you. And it's possible that Criston already dislikes Harwin as a result of jealousy or a bruised ego. Criston is supposed to be your sworn protector, not him. He will not only support Alicent's animosity toward Rhaenyra, but also ensure that some of Alicent's animosity is directed at Harwin.

Viserys occupies most of his time with you as he gets older and his health deteriorates. While he prefers Rhaenyra to his children with Alicent, it gradually becomes clear that he favors you even more. Viserys always relies on you for solace, and you never fail to reassure him. He feels comfortable sharing his shame and suffering with you, particularly regarding Aemma.

As Rhaenyra gives birth to Joffrey, you and Laenor wait outside. Only to be confused when you see Rhaenyra carrying Joffrey already walking and ascending the stairs. Apparently, the queen wants to see the baby right away. You insist she rests while you bring the child to the queen, but she refuses. There is a glimmer of hope in Rhaenyra that this will help you realize just how cruel Alicent is in this whole situation.

Your focus is now on Joffrey in light of everything that is happening. You are the one holding him the most, along with Rhaenyra. Luke, who is accustomed to receiving the majority of your attention, is a little jealous of his baby brother. As Harwin requests to see Joffrey, you place the child in his arms. While rocking the baby; he grins, saying you’d be a great aunt to the boy.

Since you lack a dragon, the kids quarrel over which one you should ride. Jace argues you should ride his dragon, but Aegon counters that since his is larger, it’ll be better. Aemond says nothing during the entire conversation.

When the boys offer to give Aemond a pig for him to ‘ride’, Aemond immediately goes to you; telling you what they did as you console him. You confront the boys to scold them on the matter and Aemond can be seen almost smiling in the background.

At Pentos, Laena wants to leave, but Daemon is adamant about staying. The truth is that Laena misses her home, her family, and occasionally, even you. And to make matters worse, Laena is worried about the hightowers, and she can tell that her husband feels the same way. Besides, her daughters also miss you.

As stated, you frequently watch the boys spar, and they all like to show off. Viserys occasionally join you and express his desire for the boys to bond through sparring. However, an unfortunate event occurs when Harwin lunges at Criston. As Harwin is pulled back by four men and forced to leave, Criston feels victorious; this will make you see Harwin as the man he is.

Before departing, Harwin bids you and the children farewell. He promises to come to see you someday and exchange ravens with you. Harwin advises you to take care of the boys and your "sister". You're not aware that this is the last time you'll see him.

Like her father, Rhaenyra attempts to keep you in her vicinity as much as possible during that time. The rumors surrounding the court become too much, and she feels as though her friendship with Alicent will never be repaired. Laenor is also preoccupied with drinking at the moment. This all just makes her feel more isolated than ever. She desires to depart for Dragonstone and wishes for you to accompany her.

As you might expect, Alicent declines and assumes you'll stay in King's Landing. But Alicent is taken aback when you ask to accompany Rhaenyra. This was brought on by guilt—the guilt you felt for siding with Alicent more than Rhaenyra, and the guilt you felt for not being a good sister to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't feel so alone. Even when Alicent is pleading otherwise, Viserys allows you to travel with Rhaenyra for a time.

You are greeted at Dragonstone with the most heartbreaking news: Harwin and Leana are dead. Knowing how much she cared for him, you take a moment to console Rhaenyra. Jace comes to you for consolation as well, and you let him grieve. Luke is still too young to recognize Harwin was his father, but he claims to miss him and exhibits sadness over his passing. When you finally get to Laenor to comfort him over the loss of his sister, you don't hold any of his tears against him.

When you attend Laena’s funeral, there seem to be only a few who are truly grieving. While you’re used to everyone’s eyes on you, this time it feels unsettling. Baela and Rhaena are the ones you approach first, and you take them both in your arms. Later, Rhaenys joins, and the two of you share a hug and a private moment. Then you find yourself walking up to Corlys, who is speaking to Jace. The instant Corlys notices you, he immediately stands up and embraces you, too. Jace is gently nudged by you to go comfort the girls.

Your eyes meet Daemon's, but Otto stops you as you try to reach him. Otto hugs you while expressing his regret for what happened; all in front of Daemon. You both can see the anger on Daemon's face as he walks to you. Otto is pulled aside, and the two of them have a brief conversation; you can tell from the look on Otto's face that Daemon said something demeaning.

Aegon seems to prefer being anywhere else than here. He is standing near you most of the time and will occasionally take a cup whenever a servant passes by carrying a tray. Helaena chooses to entertain herself by catching a spider. She shows it to you, and despite your sorrow, you smile at her. You are aware of Criston and Alicent watching you the entire, and wonder why Criston seems content.

Later at night, you are summoned to the room because of an incident involving the children. Luke, Jace, Baela, and Rhaena come running to you the moment you enter the room. As Luke's face is the most battered, your attention is drawn to him. But when you see Aemond on the chair, you are horrified. Aemond then turns to fully face you, wanting you to see what they did to him.

Nearly in tears, Alicent demands justice. When Viserys refuses, she is left with no other option. Alicent grabs the king’s blade and heads to the children. She is stunned to witness you quickly running to put your body between her and Luke. More so, the look on your face when she cuts Rhaenyra. It was a look of fear. She could still hear Rhaenyra's words, "Now they see you for what you're."

Aemond breaks the silence by telling his mother not to mourn over him, and that this is a fair trade. He leans on his mother, but she is perplexed when he abruptly leaves her side to approach Rhaenyra and those nearby.

They realize you are what he is actually heading toward, not Rhaenyra. You still have Luke in one arm when he approaches you, and Aemond rests his head against your shoulder. You reluctantly embrace him while everyone looks on. With his good eye, Aemond turns to Luke, glaring ferociously. No one notices.

You then remain by Rhaenyra's side as the maester sews her arm. In another room, Alicent is distressed. She tells her father about the looks you gave her that night and how she might have lost your favor. How she must have frightened you. But she is reassured by Otto that this is untrue; you embracing Aemond that night proved there’s still a chance of you being on their side. You’re fond of the children, and Otto will use that to his every advantage.

At night time, you're taken aback when Laenor wakes you. He apologizes for being absent when the incident happened and for failing to offer you comfort when you needed it, as he was too preoccupied with his grief. Strangely, though, Laenor bids you farewell and mentions how much he values having you in his life.

In the early morning, you’re in Rhaenys’ chamber consoling her for the loss of her son. Viserys had intended to take you with him to King's landing, but after seeing how Rhaenys became childless in a span of days, Viserys let you stay to aid Rhaenys in her grief.

You soon serve as one of the witnesses at Rhaenyra and Daemon's marriage. You are surrounded by the children, who are all in your immediate vicinity. You knew the marriage was not done out of love, but to prepare for something, and for that, you have begun to dread the future.

---

Taglist: @westernbaby @elsyyie @athelleen

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purplealmonds · 2 months

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Everything about Shingi's character design choices is laced with melancholy.

Let's start with a simple observation:

1. The character for "shin"(神) - divine – is phonetically similar to the "Shi"(死) – death.

As a matter of fact, the word for "dead" in Japanese is pronounced "shin" (死ん). There's the missing "n"! On can argue that Shingi, this divine ritual, can also be considered a death-related ritual since it involves the slaying of a mononoke. There's always a sadness involved in its killing, as a mononoke is birthed from intense suffering. I'm pretty sure that this phonetic similarity is not a coincidence, given how much care is put into naming the other characters in Mononoke Karakasa (see my analysis on Utayama and Mizorogi)

Now let's dive into more observations below the cut!

2. Movie-Kusu (Nusu) and Shingi look like completely different people.

Let's compare/contrast them with Anime-Kusu (Kusu) and Hyper for a clearer read.

👭 Exhibit A: Physical Form

Kusu & Hyper: Hyper is slightly more muscular and taller than Kusu, but has more or less the same facial structure. They both have manicured nails. Although they have differing hair types (Kusu's is wavy while Hyper's is sleek), they're roughly the same lightness (dirty blond and silver).

Nusu & Shingi: Nusu has a pointed chin, and Shingi has a squared off chin. He also has a longer neck and keeps his nails unpainted and blunt. His red-blue iridescent black hair (the color which also represents masculinity in Japanese culture) contrasts strongly against Nusu's pale lavender with pink fringe. They share eye shapes, but nothing much else.

👗 Exhibit B: Fashion Choices

Kusu & Hyper: Hyper's outfit could be considered a battle-ready variant of Kusu's garb - removed inner robe, rolled up outer kimono sleeves.

Nusu & Shingi: Nusu's outfit is based on a woman's kimono. Shingi's outfit is based on the men's kingashi kimono. While Nusu wears is draped in many, many layers of fabric, Shingi is in a casual state of undress and runs around barefoot.

Superficially, we can interpret Nusu & Shingi's different appearances as a more blatant divide between yin and yang, the feminine and masculine. However, I think there may be a deeper story reason behind this, which is...

2. Shingi's Appearance is Trauma-Coded

🌈Exhibit A: Color Symbolism

White, or shiro, is considered a sacred color reserved for the gods. It is also the color of traditionally symbolizing mourning and death. Shingi's outfit heavily features white. And not to mention, his eyes are white too!

In my analysis about eye colors in relation to the Go-Gyo (五行), or the five elements which are part of the hexagram paradigm, I noted that it was interesting that while Shingi was aligned with the Kun(坤) exorcism sword aligned with the earth element (symbolized by yellow), his eye color is white, which is aligned with metal. Earth has an inter-promoting relationship to metal, in that the latter is generated by the former. And how is earth forged into metal? Through incredible pressure (life's adversities), perhaps forged even in the very mantle of the earth (fire).

Which brings me to another interesting observation: if Shingi is theoretically aligned with metal, why is it that his markings are red (fire), while Hyper's is gold (the color of a metal)? It's plausible that when earth-aligned Shingi metaphorically crumbled from this yet-to-be-unearthed trauma, fire-aligned Hyper "reforged" those disparate fragments into a new, possibly stronger elemental alignment of metal. And in return, Shingi "branded" Hyper with metallic gold, which is a color tangential to the yellow color-coding of earth. Whatever hardships Hyper and Shingi went through together prior to the first episodes of Mononoke, they both left their marks on each other quite literally.

👕Exhibit B1: State of Dress

Depression often leads to the neglect of self-care, which in turn makes keeping a tidy appearances a daunting, often unsurmountable chore. Shingi's kimono top is half-shucked. He doesn't even bother to wear pants, and the bandages on his forearm and legs are loosely tied tripping hazards. He also keeps his hair down. Hair styling is a huge indicator of one's status in feudal Japan. By not styling his hair, he's choosing to 1) defy social norms and 2) disregard and neglect the duties connected to his divine status.

👘 Exhibit B2: Kimono Folding

This was actually a really subtle detail, but once I saw it I could never unsee it. Check out how Shingi folds his kimono top. I know his abs are distracting, but bear with me here:

Did you see it too? Instead of crossing his kimono left over right like Nusu, Shingi crosses his kimono right over left. The only time you cross your kimono like Shingi if you are clothing a corpse. Combined with the phonetics of his name and white coloring of his robe, I have reason to believe that at some point in time, Shingi "died". And the only window of time a being like himself can possibly "die" is when he possesses his medicine seller's body to slay a mononoke. And if he "dies" while possessing his medicine seller, I imagine that the medicine seller would succumb to those injuries and also follow suit shortly afterwards.

4. Conclusion/Headcanon:

I have a theory that, upon bonding with the exorcism sword, the spirit of that sword imprints upon the wielder by forming their humanoid appearance after their medicine seller's - like Hyper and Kusu. Which leads me to believe that Shingi had another partner prior to Nusu. Shingi "died", presumably from being overwhelmed by a mononoke. His previous partner died shortly afterwards. When he by some miracle is "revived," he starts questioning his godhood and is wracked with survivor's guilt. This manifests as his lanky, almost emaciated body build and his mortal, less otherworldly appearance (compared to Hyper). When Nusu inherited that exorcism sword, Shingi clung to aspects of his former partner's likeness as his way of mourning. Somewhere along the way, Hyper intervenes to save Shingi from his downward spiral, resulting in the two of them being irreversibly marked and influenced by each other's elemental alignments.

But yeah – that's my angsty theory about Shingi's tragic backstory. What do you think? Do you think it has any credence to it?

#モノノ怪 #mononoke 2024 #mononoke karakasa #analysis #headcanon #2024 #🔕

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alexanderwales · 2 months

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Sweet Polly Oliver

There's this trope that doesn't show up all that much in Western media where a woman has to, for contrived reasons, pretend to be a man. By contrast, it seems like there's a new K-drama every year or two that has this as its core premise, usually part of a romance.

Personally, I love it, and I'm not entirely sure why.

Some of it is that I'm a sucker for forbidden love, especially when the thing that forbids that love is something that's mostly in the minds of the characters. When two characters yearn for each other and feel like there's this enormous gulf between them, not realizing that that gulf is at best six inches across? That gets me.

Some of it is that I find the tropes fun — secret identities, misunderstandings, people talking past each other, double-booking, that sort of thing.

There's a stock scene where the love interest does something that his culture perceives as totally fine for two men but inappropriate for a man and a woman, but he's oblivious and she's shocked, stunned, or blushing. Maybe he slapped her butt, or got undressed in front of her, or just made some sexual comment.

There's this other stock scene where she does something that would be appropriate for a man and a woman but inappropriate for two men. Some of that "male distance" gets eroded. She falls asleep on him. She slips her hand into his without thinking much about it, then withdraws when she remembers.

Obviously this only works if you have some fairly strong gender roles, which I think might be one of the reasons that it's not super popular in the West. Of course, one of the things I like is that it's poking at how gender is performed and perceived, these arbitrary rules about how we relate to each other, what's appropriate and inappropriate, how feelings can bubble up, where the transgressions lie.

And of course most of these end up in completely conventional straight relationships, partly because the intended audience seems to be straight women, but also partly because they don't want to make a statement. I have watched three or four of these now, and I would be shocked if the next one I watch concluded with any kind of queer acceptance (beyond what's implied by all the gender stuff that goes on over the course of twenty episodes of gender poking). There's flirtation with queerness and gender nonconformity, I guess.

I've just started on The King's Affection, which seems to be taking the whole thing a little more seriously, but it feels like it might still fill the same niche.

#k drama #genderbending #media criticism

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porcelaintoybox23 · 1 year

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The most out-of-pocket thing about watching the first episode of Fionna and Cake is realizing that I was doing the exact same morning routine as her. Here I am comparing and contrasting between the original show and their counterparts just to notice that I also woke up early, snoozed my alarm, put on my uniform and rushed to work with the same level of enthusiasm. I even tripped.

The theme song was painfully relatable. I also feel like the world is not magical. This show really said it's for us, the original target audience all grown up. The disillusioned zennials. Can't wait for the rest.

Completely unrelated, I just realized I have to go through Marceline's character arc again but with Marshall this time. I love them, but early Marceline was a little annoying. Girl, if you don't give them their house back 😭

#adventure time #fionna and cake #fionna campbell #fionna the human #marshall lee #gary prince #has grown on me a bit #and before someone misinterprets what i said. i love marceline just not the her first episode #also the designs are so much fun i love them #also cake said puck it up #lamoo #fionna and cake spoilers

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peachjagiya · 1 month

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Are You Sure?

Episodes 1 and 2 thoughts

I've had a chance to watch them properly now.

My main takeaway is absolute bafflement at the characterisation in that weird W article?! It's not even that they misinterpreted the show, it's almost like they didn't even watch it? JK is his sweet and soft silly self. Jimin is full big brother.

I have thoroughly and genuinely enjoyed it. I must confess, in the first episode they do seem awkward with contrasting energies. As they say, they haven't met up and I think it does feel like it for almost all of first ep. So I was worried how I'd handle 8 hours of that considering I get severe second hand emotions.

The shift seemed to take place at the meal prep at the camp site. I guess this is terra firma for them, a safe space reminiscent of ITS and the dorms etc.

I don't know if anyone will agree but the phone calls at the table seemed to put a lid on the awkwardness entirely. The switch to super comfortable besties was complete after those. I found that very interesting.

Did you notice the matched energies in the calls too? We've talked about Taekook's call a lot but we can't ignore how natural Jimin's voice was with Yoongi. I'm wondering maybe if they needed those moments with their closest members to put a line in the sand almost? I don't think I mean they were planned and forced as such but getting to be real in that moment must have been like a sigh of relief after such a long time dancing around the truth. Maybe this is delulu but I'd love your thoughts on it.

As for Taekook's call, I am now convinced Tae said something sweet or rude or otherwise disallowed that was muted when he first answered. Mainly because of how he then made clear they were filming. I also think that JK hung up because he was about to get a lecture about the bike and that his texts to Tae were jokingly apologetic like "sorry sorry I like you so much I love you forgive me that was just too funny"

I felt awful for Jimin and his tummy issues. On a BOAT?! And a HIKE? guys what the hell. Let him sleep.

I cannot with JK eating his way through Connecticut. Relatable king. Food is the only thing that will get me out of the house too actually.

I loved their dynamic in the second episode. It made me kind of peak mad at the Jikook ship- actually no. Not at the shipping. At the characterisation that goes with it. Because they're such great brothers, it does a disservice to the best bits of their dynamic to put them into gross alpha-omega dynamic when they're prototypical siblings. It's so enjoyable to watch.

I've gone from wondering why they bothered to thinking it's for the better that they did this. Getting to show what they really are to each other finally actually makes for much more interesting TV than I thought.

In conclusion: never seen a better representation of my ADHD than going for a sponge but getting distracted by guacamole.

💜💜💜 let's hope next week doesn't absolutely destroy it with editing nonsense 😂

#are you sure

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lynn-tged-posting · 21 days

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tged webtoon ep 157 spoilers and thoughts but also a good amount of panel dissection that might be overanalyzed but i couldn't stop thinking about it so just let me yap okay it plagued me all weekend

i am so serious when i say this entire episode gave me like. so much worry and anxiety over the characters that i made myself upset thinking about it . the only thing saving me is everyone's fun expressions in this and specifically this panel of javier

HES SO SILLY CUTE PLAYING WITH THE SUMMONS THEYRE ADORABLE EEHEHEHEHE

anyway . to the brainrot

i think this panel of lloyd turning his back to javier, immediately after telling javier to go on break for a while, was the first little indicator of "oh no" for me

it really worried me that he said this, especially when they've been working together so much on their journey, so this was tiny little moment of "oh boy whats going on,,," for me,,, idk if anyone else felt the same but i had a feeling i would Not be ready for this ep. and i was right i was absolutely not ready

and then we hit the montage of javier going around the estate and observing how much the land has changed, and i really loved that!! it was really heartwarming seeing everyone, smiling and achieving dreams and stability in a way that the fronteras hadnt seen in a long time (hell i was convinced "oh everythings fine nvm" 😭)

some of my favorite panels in that sequence heehee bayern and his kids this was really really sweet WAAAHH

JAVIERS EXPRESSION HERE WAS SUPER FUNNY TOO absolutely gonna use this as a reaction image

ALSO THIS STATUE OF LLOYD ADHAHAHAHAHDFAHA IM PRETTY SURE IT IS RELATED TO IF NOT THE SAME AS THE STATUE IN CPSM they do have different poses so it mightve had to be rebuilt or something but either way . lloyd statue where he's near naked for some reason in the middle of frontera estate. a wonderful center piece good work team

AND MY BABY BOY SOLITAS he finally managed to create something im so proud of him GOOD JOB BUD!! THE CARVING IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

it just hit me as im typing this that they also say "[project name] complete" not sure if this is a translation thing or if it's something they picked up from lloyd saying "construction complete" but if its the latter thatd be REALLY CUTE

also that panel of tordes by the mines he looks genuinely . satisfied and happy?? the guy punished to work for the fronteras for over 100 years is having a great time LMAO

AND THIS PANEL OF JAVIER

THIS MADE ME SMILE SO WIDE

it's really really pretty, and javier can see that. he can see that the estate has grown and changed into a strong and capable place, and he echoed this in the last chapter but it's really worth celebrating this. so many accomplishments, in so little time, with so much efficiency. frontera estate has been raised from the ground up and seeing it all accumulated was so so beautiful,,,

so seeing this panel absolutely devastated me

the contrast is STRIKING. all of the brightness and light and warmth of the street javier is in is only seen in partial rays streaking in. lloyd is alone, surrounded by books and in a darker corner of the panel. isolated, facial features unreadable and working by himself,,, refusing to see or ignoring all of the accomplishments behind him.

it's like he's falling back into old habits. that workaholism that kept him alive when he was only kim suho in korea. in order to survive, to keep up, to stay afloat, to stay ALIVE, you must keep working. go to the next project, the next problem, the next assignment, and everything will be fine. only then will freedom be yours to have. only then will you be free of this responsibility you bear for those you love.

but he really doesn't need to do that anymore! he has a whole estate of people who will follow him to the ends of the earth, because he's proven himself to be capable of protecting them. he has parents who love him, despite his changes, despite his past, who have grown to believe in him.

he has his beloved knight, who is waiting for him to call for aid. who only needs a glance or a word to lend a hand. who is waiting for him to come outside and just SEE all that he's done. to celebrate, to have peace. to enjoy home. to simply be at home, together.

"when will you be able to come here...?"

javier, protagonist that he is, sees all this light around, and it's peeking into this library that lloyd is in, wondering where the engineer is, but his nose is to a book. because he is working. and that's,,, scary to see. there's a level of distance already taking shape because of old habits, and i don't know if either of them realize it

and like you look at the panel javier is in one more time and you can see, there's kids playing as javier and lloyd! they even have matching hair, and the dog is colored exactly like ppodong. super cute! but it worries me that they're on opposite sides of javier.

said this earlier; this is probably an overanalysis and this probably means nothing. it really is a cute lil cameo of some kids in town! but the fact that they are split like this is eating at me. ppodong-dog is on javier-kid's side, when ppodong is lloyd's summon? and again, they're on opposite sides of javier, will they join back together and keep playing? lloyd-kid is ahead of javier-kid, will he run on ahead without looking back? it's so cute and yet it's making me anxious!!! am i overthinking???

anyway, this split and the two panels contrasting each other like this filled me with so much nervousness that i had to close my eyes and just breathe for a little bit

then we see arcos and marbella talking about lloyd and it's clear they're worried about him, still unsure of where these changes in behavior came from and yet accepting it nonetheless because god dammit theyre good kind people

and when we see lloyd he looks,,,

tired, and disheveled, and still only thinking about working on the next thing. he keeps going on too, like there's nothing currently wrong with this; he's probably used to it, handling everything without a moments rest. the count and countess even mention it at the end of the episode

and when he treats the formal frontera attire lightly and scurries off again, it's like a final nail in this sinking coffin. honestly, i think early lloyd probably would have said similar things to try and skirt the count's attention, but this scene in combination with lloyd being depicted as separated from lloyd, appearing exhausted from continuous work, as well as the following panels of lloyd leaving,,, it fills me with anxiety and dread.

face shrouded in the darkness of the hall, so his features are unrecognizable, just like the library panel. who is that? is it suho or is it lloyd speaking right now? where are you going, into that darkness by yourself, shying away from the light you've brought to this estate? you don't have to do this alone.

and this long, looming distance stretching between him and arcos and marbella. stretching further as lloyd marches onward and alone, working by himself, away from the moments of peace and celebration that his family and his estate bring. into the dark. it's a little haunting to me.

these panels did a really, REALLY good job at solidifying this growing degree of isolation that lloyd is putting himself into, intentionally or not (for lloyd and for the artist lol). he's getting out of reach in his desire to protect everyone, to complete this responsibility he gave himself for the estate.

it's almost,,, backwards? in a way? in the early webtoon, there's a panel where suho is shown trying to reach for a light in the darkness. he believed that if he kept working towards that light, he'll find a way out of this hell he's found himself in, and so everything would be fine. here and now, it could be that he still thinks that this is the case, when it's in fact the opposite. he's brought this light to the estate, but he's putting himself in the dark (and alone, at that) in an effort to reach for the "next light". i don't think he realizes it. this makes me really, really sad. jesus christ well done artist/adaptor

what is it all for if you won't even rest? if you won't turn around and look at all these people who need you around? and not need you as in doing work for them, but need you as in wanting to be with you, and cherishing you, and spending time with you, and simply loving you. yes, time is short and yes, fate is looming, but all this effort to fight those things is still making him lose this connection he has with the estate. he doesn't have to do this alone,,, he doesn't have work endlessly. take a BREAK LLOYD

and by the end of the episode it's to the point that arcos and marbella have realized that that's not lloyd frontera. that's someone else. and gods their faces are DEVASTATING

eyes shadowed, irises blank and lost. they're not frowning deeply, but i can feel the upset layered in. is it disappointment or is it grief? i can't really say for sure, but man,,, man.

anyway yeah i hope u guys understand why this episode gave me anxiety LMFAO

i am so so so sorry for the overthinking/overdissection in this post but my brain started connecting things . whether or not they make sense or if it's just being nitpicky is impossible for me to see so. yeah take this however u will

i actually also briefly saw someone on twitter say that this wasn't in the novel? which is interesting and also a little scary i hope lloyd will turn out alright AHHH

i really hope next episode everyone will be alright ,,, please i cant take this much emotional twisting and turning im gonna lose my mind

see y'all next week or in the next shitpost,,, whichever comes first

#tged #the greatest estate developer #tged spoilers #lloyd frontera #javier asrahan #arcos frontera #marbella frontera #lynn misc #lynn yaps #<- im gonna use this for the posts where i feel like i happen to actually say something kind of worthwhile for once LMAO #also sorry this was posted so late! i went to an anime convention #i saw a handful of booths selling orv fanmerch . i believe tged will make it to that level one day <- insane levels of copium #ay please tell me if i am overly picking apart these panels btw sometimes i get carried away w these #when will you be able to come here... <- LOUD WAILING LOUD SOBING IM NOT OVER THIS BTW #i felt insane. i felt like i was put in an automatic towel wringer and squeezed #sorry if u already saw my minithread abt this ep on twt btw i rehashed some points from there onto here #minithread was essentially a preview of what i was thinkin for my tumblr post LMAO #so ya if u want more timely posts from me find my twt...

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