#There is another version with dark background but I don't know what I like better
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Lost the patience for the background.
Oof I love all the characters so much, but she is just 💕🥰💕
I think I cried through the entire second half of the last episode. Just. Ahhh. So many emotions.
#Critical Role#EXU: Calamity#Laerryn Coramar Seelie#my art#There is another version with dark background but I don't know what I like better
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the fun thing about durgetash for me as far as definitely toxic ships go, is that gortash and durge, as individuals, are toxic. but the ship itself? not toxic at all in my take. because as horrible as they are as people, the love they have for each other is actually very genuine. everyone else in the world is dust under their boots except for each other. they truly respect each other and get along frighteningly well and listen to each other and support each other’s atrocities and so, if you ignore the screaming of their victims in the background, their relationship is actually kind of healthy.
to be fair: this is with my version of them in mind lol i know other people have spicer takes where they ARE actively toxic to each other and such, and those are fun too but ive gotten so into the version of them where they both just exude toxicity to everyone in their lives EXCEPT each other. it’s already a trope im very weak to but its especially crazy with them. its like they cancel each other out somehow lol
like i think it takes a while to get to that point of course, to build up actual trust enough to feel even slightly safe around each other, but once they open up to each other the affection-starvation just jumps out. and then despite everything they manage to actually be gentle with each other. and neither of them deserves gentleness of any sort, but they get it anyway, from each other.
so for me durgetash is “toxic” only by virtue of the individuals involved being horrible terrible people, and because they gleefully support each other’s evil plans, and not because of how they actually treat each other, which is actually the closest thing to “normal” either of them will ever experience (and it is still so, so far from “normal” lol)
but it’s still also nice to be in a ship where the discourse is so obvious we don’t even bother lol. yes gortash has a list of human rights abuses longer than he is tall. yes he’s gonna have an evil cuddle with his evil partner-in-crime in their evil bedroom after a long, hard day of being evil. and i’m gonna be thinking about it <3
Anon, you get me.
I think durgetash just works because...they are so blatantly evil.
Gortash tortured a bunch of people trying to figure out how tadpoles worked, and the evidence of his crimes is in the mindflayer colony beneath Moonrise and in the Steel Watch Foundry. His Steel Watch guards literally kill children and innocent families.
The Dark Urge mentions killing (eating?) a BABY. They have killed thousands. They eat human meat. They torture people.
They both started the entire plot by being total pieces of shit.
So what are you going to do?
Cancel them???
The game cancels them.
Gortash literally got cancelled so hard his brain popped.
The Dark Urge dies in most playthroughs. They only become redeemable by literally dying and becoming a new person. Plus their life is so fucking awful, that it almost cancels out how bad they are, because they're a vessel of Bhaal, who can either choose obedience or death.
They are both so outrageously evil, you can't even be outraged.
No one on the entire planet is defending either of them.
It almost defeats itself as an argument, like, you say Gortash is horrible, and I say yeah, man. You say, the Dark Urge is evil, and I say absolutely.
But that's kind of why...a relationship between the two of them IS so good, though.
Sure, there have always been villainous ships, but...something about these jagged creatures having a soft spot for one another...
It just works.
It's...it's taking two wretched beasts, and giving them something human to hold between their claws.
How can you support them being together, but how could you deny them this?
They're so horrible, they don't deserve love, but at the same time, seeing profoundly evil people are still capable of love, and humanity is inescapable, no matter how inhuman you are...
Hmmmm.
Yes.
The worse Dark Urge and Enver are, the better Durgetash comes.
That's the wonderful conundrum.
It's honestly such a SHIP, anon.
THE Ship.
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tick tock tick!
one's a fool, the other's a fool.
once a fool, always a fool.
you never imagined being thrown over the known limits of time and space, then back again, is what will make you grasp these two simple little facts — you don't appear to be very ruffled, though.
▸ gojo satoru x fem!reader; 2.8k wc; time travel; light-hearted banter and fluff; sassy-yet-concerned-bestie!student-shoko; living-in-denial!student-reader; pining-in-the-background!student-satoru; the grown-up reader's enjoying her time in the past but she really wants to return to her time; suggestive themes in the very end [it's implied & between grown-up reader and grown-up satoru back in the present]
▸ belongs to series we're the summer to our winter rain but you can read this as a stand-alone if you wanna!
▸ the element of time travel's been borrowed from the amazing oneshot 'time travel' by @seeingivy. tysm rc!!!! i love your works!!!! ❤️❤️
▸ the gif, divider and characters used ain't mine. please don't plagiarize, translate or repost this. enjoy reading! ❤️
idiocy – same as common cold; worse than common cold – is contagious.
weird take, isn’t it, for a person such as you on a day such as today?
gray skies. strong winds. light drizzles.
perfect day, really – a much desired reprieve from the sweltering tokyo summers, you muse – one you would have been content in whiling away wrapped in your blanket with a novel and a savoury snack. or perhaps, you would have gone on a drive through the damp streets of the city. or, better yet, you would have taken a nice long nap in the comfort of your home–
–the keywords in each being ‘would have’.
’cause you do not do either of these – rather, you cannot.
in a peach classroom you know was painted yellow last autumn, before a phone you recollect being broken in a mission last decade, looking at a face with a hairstyle you haven’t seen the likes of since five years ago – any and every plan you might’ve had go straight out your mind into the courtyard outside.
cigarette dangling from fingers, shoko blinks back at you. you offer a tentative smile.
“hey, shoko! long time, no see, eh?”
the girl lets out a long exhale of smoke and asks, “is this real or am i finally hallucinating from sleep deprivation?”
“the former, i’m afraid,” you say softly, then frown. “wait a sec–”
“won’t wait,” cutting you off, she huffs a faint chuckle. you give an unimpressed look at her nonchalant attitude, only to see it bounce right off her. not that you’re very surprised, you suppose. “i’ve had enough mothering from the present-you; any more treating me as a kid and i swear i’m going berserk.”
your lips dip into a faux-pout.
“aw, that would be a pity. the only healer we have, lost to the darkness. the society would be in shambles.”
that earns another chuckle from shoko and she reclines in her seat, eyes watching your features closely. unnerving, yes; yet you let her. it isn’t every day one meets the adult version of their kouhai, after all. [that and the fact you’ve always been rather fond of this friend of yours – both in your teens and twenties – something you reckon is too known to be voiced always.]
one whole minute elapses before the silent examination ends. you heave an inward sigh of relief, which grows into fatigue at the next question. a mere monosyllable but enough to make you want to hit your head against the window.
“how?”
you wonder what answer must you give to your former senpai.
should you say it was a mishap on a mission which led you here?
nah, too unlikely to occur for someone as warily careful as you.
from an encounter with a cursed item you knew nothing of?
the truth, of course, but with a pinch of salt here and a pinch of pepper there.
you settle on serving shoko the blandest form of the truth ever.
placing a dilapidated pocket sundial on the desk, you reply, “i came across this in the storeroom today while deep cleaning the house. now, i knew; this was soaked in cursed energy; besides, it looked too simple to be a weak cursed object. but–”
“your curiosity overpowered your common sense, and you fussed with it and ended up here,” the girl finishes for you. a lame nod paired with an embarrassed smile is the only response you manage. she shoots an unimpressed face back. “you’ve always been the smart one... since when did you become an idiot?”
“years of being with an idiot–”
“ieiri-senpai – what the fuck!? who the hell are you??”
the familiar screech, you never knew was so raucous until now [suguru was right], snaps your explanation in two and you cast a sideways glance to see the exact image you were expecting.
messy hair, black sunglasses [not yours], floral print dress and sneakers – accompanied by a gobsmacked expression and two wide eyes peeking from behind the shades – the younger you stays rooted to her spot in the doorway. you wave at her weakly. “kind of shocking, right?”
“i’m not dreaming, am i?” the target of your question breathes out. you shake your head. “no. i’m real and i’m here.”
the statement drains bits of incredulity from her form and you watch her slowly enter the class and take the seat next to yours. a frown makes its way onto her lips.
“how? and, more importantly, why?”
a short chuckle leaves you.
this is the age when you were the most into the genre of science fiction of everything... the poor student you must be thinking you’re here to warn her of an event in the future or something of the sorts. you debate for a while on if you should play with her concerns or not – then decide against it. she looks too innocent to be teased so cruelly; besides, you never had the slightest of masochistic tendencies.
you smile at her, reassuringly. “how... i grew too curious for my good and ended up fiddling with something i should’ve handled more carefully – hey, don’t touch it,” you slap her hand away from the sundial; she gives you a sheepish grin. you resume with a huff, “and as to why... i’ve no clue. i really wanna go back home and start cleaning again.”
your younger version wrinkles her nose. “ew, why’re you cleaning? just hire some help to do all that work, dummy.”
you resist the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose. you really did hate doing household chores, hm?
“i do have help hired, but sometimes, you really wanna care for your home on your own, y’know? besides...” a tinge of loving exasperation sneaks into your voice. “there are only so many who have the patience to search for candy wrappers in every nook and corner of the– oh, shit. i mustn’t spoil the future for y’all.”
a cheshire cat grin and a confused little frown meet the tense smile you aim at your two companions. shoko drawls, “candy wrappers, huh? how’s living with satoru treating you? must be nice, living with the love of your life.”
“you’ll be the best one to know, senpai, what with barely staying in your rooms whenever iori-senpai's here,” the other girl cuts in with a sharp smile, which becomes soothing when she turns to you. “don’t you let those words get to you; these people are living in a fantasy world of their own, thinking every kind of godforsaken nonsense.” then tapers off, chuckling, when you watch her catch your knowing grin. “ah, sorry. i forgot you’re my future self; you’ll obviously know this.”
“i do,” saying so, you look at shoko. “’toru and i can be roommates too, you know?”
the girl makes no attempt to conceal the eye-roll, nor the scoff. “yeah, but are you? the two of you are literally in love with each other.”
“senpai...” the younger you whines, visibly affronted and annoyed, only to be interrupted by an obnoxious music before she can barely begin her rant. the older girl silently asks you to watch her kouhai – a request you fulfil with an amusement, the latter growing increasingly difficult to stow away with every moment you observe your glowing younger self.
yes, that’s right.
glowing.
from when she accepts the call and places the phone next to her ear, to when she hollers out a cheery “rise and shine, ’toru! you’re late!”, to when she exchanges animated dialogues, giggling, with the boy at the other end, to when she cuts the call and returns her focus to shoko and you, a wide grin blooming on her lips even while she apologizes for having to cut the meeting short — glowing is the only adjective, you think, will suit the teenaged-you.
you brush her apology away with a grin of your own. “it’s okay, go enjoy your day-off with your ’toru. a few more years and you’ll find such relaxing days hard to come by.”
“oh?” the girl pauses, grin melting away in disappointment – however, before you can even attempt to rectify or explain your statement, hauling her by the arm, shoko drags her away.
“off you go, lover girl,” she scowls, shoving her out into the hallways, “you’ve a date waiting; you ought to know better than to mope now.”
“this isn’t a date! and i ain’t moping!” comes the incredulous exclamation within an instant, soon followed by the reappearance of the younger you in the doorway, showing something between an exuberant beam and a worried frown as she inquires, “you wouldn’t call this a date, would you?”
a feeling, strangely similar to sympathy, creeps into your heart.
you hum, “you are going to the new chinese restaurant in roppongi, aren’t you?”
a nod.
shoko raises an eyebrow behind her, as if meaning to query you still remembering details from so long ago. the corner of your mouth lifts. “it’s the dress, ieiri. i seldom wore it so obviously i’ll remember when i did,” you explain, then return your focus to the other girl. she returns your gaze, anticipation brimming in hers. you shake your head.
“i wouldn’t call today’s meeting a date.”
“told ya, senpai!” the teenaged-you exclaims, and with that and a salute in your direction, jogs down the corridor, a listless tune resonating within its ancient walls as she goes humming. shoko shoots a particularly scheming look your way. “you said you wouldn’t call today’s meeting a date, so are there other meetings...”
a casual shrug is what you decide to counter her implications with. “maybe. maybe not. i’m not supposed to tell you.”
“perhaps, you aren’t,” the girl responds, an odd softness developing in her tone. you bite back whatever words you were planning on telling – a soft yet serious shoko is a blue moon, one you know well enough to not take not-seriously.
ignoring the sharp spike in cursed energy from the sundial, you train your senses on the young doctor-to-be standing before you and her solemn countenance as she regards you.
she offers a careful smile.
“perhaps, i too am not supposed to tell you this, but satoru cares for you. very much. and i know you too do. as much as him. but the two of you are simply shit at expressing it. your oblivious ass, more than that lovesick fool.” a chuckle escapes you at this statement – more at its exasperated tone than its words. smile growing freer, she continues, “it isn’t really funny, i’m telling you. it’s more painfully tiring than anything else for us, watching the two of you play this game since forever – something i’ve said to that blindfolded bastard more times than i can count and something i’ve implied to you repeatedly as well. but every word i might’ve said has bounced right off gojo’s thick skin and off your thick skull. however, now–”
the girl stills and you glance to your side to find the object shining. the clock seems to have begun ticking, huh? you choose to finish your friend’s unfinished sentence.
“however, now, seeing the older and more matured me, you decided to try one last time, didn’t you? thinking this might as well be the last chance to pop my bubble of ignorance and free ’toru from the pain of pining, yeah?”
shoko nods slowly.
plucking the sundial from the desk, you give her a smile – one, you hope, shows the true depth of gratitude you feel towards her. watching the way she returns your expression, you think it does. “satoru and i always count you to be one of our dearest friends,” you say, “thank you for always looking out for us, shoko. and as for our alleged feelings for one another...”
you toss her a wink.
“you never lose a bet you place on us.”
shoko’s jaw dropping to the floor is the last thing you see before the classroom melts into a swirl of colours, into the final beige wallpaper of the storeroom. the sundial sits innocently in the hollow of your palm – a funny little antique you feel less sorry now for coming across now. returning it to the open box lying on the floor beside you, you stuff the box back into the cabinet and rise, brushing dust off your trousers.
your flat desperately needs a deep-clean – and you’ve got to finish it in the shortest time possible.
’cause there’s an intriguing story, after all, waiting to be narrated by you to your ‘roommate’ once the latter’s back from work.
bonus:
a shocked gasp rings within the steam-filled confines of your bathroom. you giggle.
“don’t act so offended, ’toru! i had to say something to avoid awkward questions.”
“how can you be so okay with it, sweets?” the 6' 3" man whines, wrapping his soap-lathered arms round your midsection and dropping his head to rest it against yours. you lean back into him, eyes closing in comfort whilst you listen to him complain, “first of all, you didn’t wear your ring–”
“i thought we were over it, ’toru. i didn’t want the ring to get dirty or lost while cleaning.”
a tiny tsk sounds while your left hand is raised and a small kiss is planted on the gold. your heart goes swooning.
satoru’s grumbles continue, undeterred, “next, you blame poor innocent me for your error – even going as far as to refer to me as an idiot – that’s still okay, i guess. i’m willing to forgive. but to call me your roommate – that’s simply unforgivable, darling.”
you let out a tiny hum. eyes opening, you turn to kiss the downturned corner of his lips. it lifts a bit. “i know, baby. i know,” you attempt to appease him, “i shouldn’t have called you my roommate when you’re someone so much more than that.”
blue eyes peering down at you reflect the emotions coursing within yourself now.
“and what might that be?” he asks in a low whisper.
brushing the wet strands of hair away from his face, you whisper back, “my ex- fiancé. you’re my darling ex- fiancé. i should have called you that in front of them, right?”
your eyes blink a mere two times before a set of sharp teeth digs into your neck, pulling a shocked yelp from you, soon followed by the impression of a smug smirk onto your skin. the bath suddenly feels awfully warm – a sensation which intensifies with every little lick and bite pressed down the side of your throat and into your bare shoulder – before satoru lifts his head and a warm puff of breath hits the shell of your ear.
“that isn’t something you must call me, wife. you’ve made me very, very upset.”
“and what might i do to make up for it?” you inquire, though the words tumble out your mouth rather shakily – thanks to the shivers your husband’s wandering hands elicit, rough with callouses yet so gentle with the manner caress you.
“what might you?” gently swivelling your head with a light grasp on your chin, he brushes a thumb along your lower lip – gaze dark and ravenous, you note absently, as it darts over your face. your eyes flutter close at the feeling. “you can let me have a taste of my favourite snack, perhaps, you–”
“you don’t mean the kikufuku mochi, do you?” moving your face away, you ask, annoyed and worried — does satoru not know how much distressing his addiction to sweets is to you?
hold on you slackening slightly, your husband blinks at you.
you glower back. “you can be mad at me for an eternity if you want, satoru. but you aren’t getting another morsel of a sweet dish. you’ve already eat–”
“what makes you think i was talking of mochis, sweet cheeks?” the stumped question interrupts your rant. you let out an angry exhale. “oh, i don’t know. maybe it was you speaking of your favourite snack, satoru.”
“and you think kikufuku mochis are my favourite?”
you raise a brow in silent challenge.
dragging you closer to himself, your husband chortles.
“you think my idiocy is contagious, don’t you? well, breaking news, mrs. gojo, your obliviousness is incurable.”
the furrow between your brows deepens, however, before you can say or ask anything, a pair of pink lips descend upon yours, capturing it in a tantalizingly slow motion – which, needless to say, renders every thought of yours into a mushy white noise.
a turn of events, you reckon, you aren’t very upset with.
you can always bring up the topic, satoru’s trying to evade, tomorrow.
[you don’t, though.
it is very late the next morning when you finally realize, lips swollen and body sore, the meaning of your husband’s statement — and a loud groan falls past you into the hush of your shared bedroom. a husky laugh muffles itself into your hair.
your obliviousness really is incurable... isn’t it?]
▸ masterlist
#gojo x you#gojo x reader#gojo satoru x you#gojo satoru x reader#jjk x you#jjk x reader#jjk drabbles#jjk fics#jjk imagines#gojo drabbles#gojo fics#gojo imagines#jjk fluff#gojo fluff#gojo satoru#jjk#jujutsu kaisen#kit posts 📝
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I saw an art on Twitter and I can't remember who post it but it was two Dewdrops, a water and a fire! It was so beautiful and made me think of Dewdrop angst. If there is water Dewdrop summoned through magic, how he used to be, and it looks to fire Dewdrop that other ghouls love water Dewdrop more... He is very fun and easy to hurt 🤭
Oohhh man. Yeah Dew is super easy to hurt. He spirals easily. And doesn't hide his insecurities well. I think two of him would be a nightmare for so many reasons. Not least of all the fact that it would make fire Dew spiral really really badly.
Thinking about this got me thinking about fire Dew and how even without another version of himself to contend with, he probably thinks his pack would like water Dew better.
I got a little carried away with angst Dew thoughts so they're going under a cut to save space.
Dew thinks about it when he's alone. At the end of bad days. After he's snapped at everyone to leave him alone and they've done it. It happens on tour mostly. There are places to go at the Abbey. He can go for a walk. Go visit Mist in the lake, or at the very least vanish into a dark silent room.
But on a tour bus? He can hear them. He's alone in his bunk. Knees drawn up to his chest. Phone playing the latest episode of whatever series he's watching. And when he takes his headphones off he can hear them. Laughing in one of thr lounges. Talking, playing cards. Swiss is plucking at a guitar. And Dew isn't there. He's here. He asked them to leave him alone.
So they did.
But water Dew would be with them. Water Dew didn't have outbursts. He never felt any emotion this strongly. Dew gets his aloofness from his past self. Sure, like Rain he could be distant. Hard to know if he didn't want to be. But at least he never snapped at anyone. Never singed the leaves of Mountains plants. Or melted the best fork on the bus just by holding it in his hand during a fit of overwhelm.
Water Dew was easy. Easier to like. Easier to be. If water Dew had stormed off, demanded to be alone, he wouldn't have been. Someone would have bullied their way into his bunk by now. Put their arm around him. Held him. But fire Dew? When he snaps everyone listens. Which is better in a lot of ways, less infantalizing. He gets what he wants, what he thinks he needs. But he knows it wears on them. He'll, it wears on him.
The way it rears up. The world too small his skin to tight. His own failures bouncing off of his skull begging to be let out. It's exhausting to live through. It can't be any better to be on the other side of it. To watch him shut down. And if they actually cared about it, they'd be here right? Standing outside of his drawn curtain. Checking in on him. He feels like the boy who cried wolf. Too many biting remarks. Too many "just leave me the fuck alone"'s and they're sick of it. They don't care.
He'll feel better after some sleep. Some food. After he reluctantly takes care of himself. He'll push it into the background when he stumbles out of bed in the morning and Mountain curls his arms around Dews shoulders and kisses him between the horns. When Cumulus settles into his lap to kiss him, tasting like green tea and honey. It will fizzle. Fade. He will feel, once again, like he is who he is supposed to be.
But right now? The sound of ruckus laughter cuts into his bunk and it feels like a twisted knife. A problem he can solve by sheepishly rejoining them. But he can't. Can't deal with the way they'll look at him. Better to just suffer. To put his headphones on and sleep it off. To isolate.
Water Dew was never allowed to isolate. Fire Dew can do whatever he wants. How liberating to be able to make these choices. To have everything he could ever want, and to run away from it , to spit in the face of it. To resent it.
He sleeps eventually. Always does. Drifting off to the sound of voices in the next room. But when he wakes he isn't alone. Aeon is next to him. Arms curled around Dews body. Breath huffing out over his horns. And Dews first instinct is to push him away. To shove until Aeon rolls out of bunk and onto the floor.
He doesn't want pity.
But Aeon pulls him tighter. Makes a noise in his sleep and Dew relents. It feels good to be held like this. And it isn't Aeon's fault for not knowing thr protocol. He doesn't know that he's supposed to ignore Dew when he gets like this, not yet. He'll learn. He'll disappear like the others have. But until then? Until Dew inevitably ruins this like he does everything else? He'll sink into it. Savor it. This fleeting comfort.
He drifts back off to sleep to the sound of Aeon mumbling into his hair.
#comet writes#comet canons#i got carried away#i don't know what happened#I'm sorry#dewdrop ghoul#ghost fic#the band ghost fan fic#aeon ghoul#dewdrop angst
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People I wanna know better tag meme
was tagged my @lurkingshan <3
Last song?
ok so there's actually a story behind the last song i listend to: earlier i was revising some stuff we did in my thai class before christmas (bc our new course is starting tomorrow) and one of the words was "earthquake" and i saw the thai word written down in my notes and somehow i heard the word as a melody in my brain?? instead of my normal reading voice?? and so i went to look up the song and sure enough the word is there
youtube
actually i heard the melody of the word "earthquake" from this song in somebody's very specific voice and i wish i could say that you can win a prize if you're able to pinpoint who and where exactly i got this song from but alas i don't have a prize, so you'll have to do with my highest admiration lmao . yes i've linked it on my blog before some time in the last few weeks
Favorite color?
blueee i really like blue, esp a nice shiny dark blue
Currently watching?
cooking crush
last twilight
the sign (i'm like 2 eps behind tho)
and i know i just got done with my bad buddy anniversary rewatch only yesterday, but i was thinking of doing another rewatch next month when i'm on semester break bc i wanna track all the times an instrumental version of "just friend?" plays as background music
Last movie?
*gaily* Überraschung!
no, i will not elaborate. this one goes out to all my german speakers. if you know you know 🤭
or actually, i'll let calvin and habs do the explaining
Sweet/Spicy/Savory?
totally depends on my mood and the dish
(unpopular opinion but savory strudel >>>>>>>>>> sweet strudel)
Relationship status?
trying to get over a crush single. bc i'd rather be caught dead than tell anyone how i feel about them. can't let people know we have, you know...
running away and denial is a healthy coping mechanism i know lmao
Current obsessions?
what am i if not a bad buddy blog in its joongdunk era
Last thing you googled?
"100 usd to euro" bc of this poll
Selfie or another pic you took?
enjoy this picture from that one time when boy cat INSISTED that he too needed to go on a walk when my mom took the dog outside and then got really angry when there was, well, snow on the ground
the world sure is not fair, huh
tagging:
@dimplesandfierceeyes @nongnaos @greenteadumplings @sunnenfinster @visualtaehyun @moonkhao @newyearknwwme @gaym3bo1 @ranchthoughts @mommyzhilla @callipigio
#am i doing this instead of working on my paper? yes. yes i am#rip to me i guess#also savory strudel IS better than sweet strudel and i will die on this hill#spinatstrudel my beloved <3333#oh how i'm craving spinatstrudel rn#where can i get spinatstrudel at 9:30pm#that reminds me i still need to have dinner so i guess i should warp this up#tag game#alsoooo if you can't tell where the movie quote is from then here's another tip:#imagine it said in a gay bavarian voice#the color is also a hint lol#if you still can't tell what it is then you probably haven't seen the movie bc that quote is pretty well known and iconic dfjkfdk#Youtube
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Please please share some coding/designing wisdom. Your game is so damn pretty 😭😭😭 Could you tell us what template you used and how hard it was to make it look like it is today? I imagine so much work must have gone into it
😭😭 I am no expert, but these are just my rationale/methods behind the visual choices I made!
For the template I used—I used Vahnya's Template! However, this post by @/manonamora-if has a whole section for templates that I wish I saw or checked out before making my IF! In another lifetime, I might've just used nyehilism's template to achieve the bottom sidebar instead of torturing myself learning how to do it... ;;
Below, I go into detail the timeline of designing Uroboros, as well as advice through the process I went!
Design Timeline
I started designing the UI late October 2022, and kept fixing, changing, editing it well into February and maybe a little bit of March 2023.
October 2022 - Early iterations of the design. Looked for stock images and began implementing it to add a background to the sidebar and the actual passages. Swatched some color palettes and began implementing them into the IF. Later decided to make the sidebar on the bottom instead of on the side. Also, added a title screen.
November - Testing different backgrounds for the IF's sidebar. Added a textbox to the passages, also worked on the black fade transitions.
December - Finished working on the sidebar background for both light and dark theme, began work on the background of the IF instead.
January 2023 - Finished working on the dark and light theme backgrounds! Started work on drawing the skill icons for light and dark theme, and finished!
February - Changed the title screen to look better on mobile, created a circle logo, added a border to the textbox. Also, made further edits for light theme.
March - Just remade the "Uroboros" logo.
If you're wondering why it took approximately 5 months to get to the final version—don't worry! I wasn't working only on the design for 5 months. My partner helped make the edits for the design, while I worked on coding them in and writing.
I spent a lot of time trying to get a grasp on Javascript, SugarCube, and HTML all throughout this time as well, to know how to fluidly add these things. Meaning, while I was working on these visual elements, I was also figuring out how to do the "looking" mechanic, black and white transitions, figuring out how Tweego worked, radio buttons, and so on.
Do note I've been busy the entire time throughout, so perhaps you can do this much quicker than I can!
The "Secrets"
1. Please—look at IFs you love! What are some visual aspects of other IFs that you love and want to include in your story? I started by analyzing parts of other IFs that I love. I liked Wayfarer's textbox; I liked how the choices looked in When Twilight Strikes. I liked the textboxes in the beginning of Zorlok. Find the things that amaze you about other IFs, and implement it your own way!
This seems like super basic advice—but trust me, once you think, "How can I put this in my game?" you will not only be able to have it, but most likely, you'll also learn a LOT.
While seeing how I could make the radio buttons, for example, I started researching. I googled "How to live change text?" and then I found out about jQuery, how to use the replace macro, etc. etc. JUST from researching how to do exactly one (1) feature.
2. What is missing in other IFs? Think about your own reading experience. I didn't like the clunkiness of some, how the sidebar is on the side when space on a mobile-screen is severely limited length-wise. So, I put the sidebar on the bottom.
I didn't like how other choices look in IFs, so I wanted a way to do mine that's nice and elegant(though it's still a little hard to read, admittedly).
Again, researching how to do the things you want opens many doors for you. I learned how to style <li> and change how bullets look, learned how to style links in Twine in general, etc. etc. again with just this ONE thing I wanted to change/add.
3. Don't do the work all by yourself. I struggled so hard because I hate asking for help. I was happy to Google other people's problems, but I never thought to open up my own thread or ask anybody in the community for help. Please, not only ask, but also—your work doesn't have to be completely original.
Use templates. Look at manon's amazing masterlist of things you can implement. I also have a few macro's that you can use, like multipronouns for MC, that does the work for you, for free.
Rip people's codes—respectfully. I'm not saying from other IFs, but online in other places. If they appear on help forums or are publicly available through places like CodePen, chances are that they're open-source or licensed in such a way that anyone can use it (e.g. MIT license).
Again, here is Manon's masterlist, which includes custom macros you can use in your game (Chapel, HiEv and Cycy are my high recommendations)! Additionally, here's my code for multipronouns here and my code for setting RO genders here.
4. MAKE IT READABLE!! Even if you want your game to look pretty... please, I'm begging you, make it easy to read. This is the most important thing ever.
I have a short attention span, and so does my partner. We reviewed the game to make sure we are NOT compromising the reading experience with our design. As much as we want fantastical backgrounds, we wanted to make sure it was at least not distracting. As much as we want gaudy styles, we want the actual passage to be suited for the long haul.
The most, most important part is to enhance the reading experience--not by adding things on, but by making it simple and intuitive. As someone in the computer science field, the user experience is CRITICAL. Put yourself in their shoes, think about them first and foremost.
Twine is amazingly customizable, and its powers can be wielded for good and evil. Plenty of amazing writers but inexperienced UI designers, especially from CoG, get into Twine. CoG almost completely takes away the design element, so Twine is a whole new ballpark.
Uroboros has a lot of pomp, but the actual textbox is uncharacteristically simple in comparison. The simplicity against an otherwise fantastical, but non-distracting background helps give it elegance. The sidebar, in contrast, is very eye-catching—but, it's also out of view most of the time, and isn't built for long reading.
To add on, make sure it's readable on mobile. I guarantee 80% of your readers are going to be reading your IF on their phone, and probably at 3 AM, so you will want the mobile to look as good as PC, or even better.
Closing Thoughts
Anyway, as basic as this advice is, this is really what guided my entire thought process behind my visual choices! -- Picking and choosing what you like from IFs, figuring out how to do them through research, and making sure your IF is built to be read for a while.
Thanks so much for asking, thinking that I have wisdom to impart!! 😭🫶💕
#uroboros-if#uroboros#asks#anon#writing reference#writing advice#if resources#twine resources#twine design#twine coding resources#gameplay design
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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 73: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences
Welcome back everyone! We're here once again for another chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, one more that's guiding us towards the grand finale!
In this chapter we finally get more things coming full circle, one in particular that I've seen many wondering about (and also many ready to dismiss as a plot hole 😅give them time, people, give them time).
To be honest, I needed some time to brainstorm and ponder if I had understood certain parts of this chapter correctly 😅, since the content is quite complex, and each language decided to translate certain pivotal parts in different ways, adding to the confusion (because there doesn't seem to be a version everyone is agreeing on).
In one specific case, that's normal (at the very end of the chapter) because the lack in the Japanese text of specific words (subject) to lead the interpretation in one direction or the other allows to get the translation in either way (as we'll see ahead).
In other cases, it's just translation mistakes and omissions that make things a bit confusing.
We also have to consider that it might totally be normal if we don't seem to get a clear, well connected answer in this chapter, because maybe the rest of the puzzle pieces will be in the following one: in this case we don't have to fret and just have faith that everything will be connected properly and be answered in due time.
It's normal, this is a serialization, we should always look at the big picture and not at the single chapters, because in the future the whole story divided in volumes readily available will be all that the future readers will get. The "confusion" that we feel as lasting for a month or more, for future readers will last only some minutes, maybe one hour, the time needed to get to read the right chapter where everything gets solved.
Sorry for this long introduction but in light of this chapter that made me sit down and reconsider multiple times how I understood things, I felt like it was worth mentioning it even here. Maybe, who knows, that will help sedate someone's frustrations.
Alright, before diving into the chapter, as usual, the gif of the month! This time it's dedicated to Sakura 😂
Let's see what happened this month and if there are translation differences to point out! (spoiler, there are)
The Color Page
AAAAATTTT LAAAASTTTT!!
FINALLY! After appearing with her back facing us, and then on the background with her eyes closed, we finally have a nice close up of our dear Lilie! With her eyes open!!! 😆
Predictable as it may sound, her eyes are indeed blue like her daughter!
But....wait a second....her hair color changed or what??? 😂
After being consistently drawn with a mix of blonde and grey/dark blonde color for the darker parts of her hair, this time around we have a more uniform coloring that's veering more towards taupe!
If I have to be honest, this color looks more similar to the shade they chose for Akiho in the anime!
But....I like the ash blonde better ☹️ also it bothers me quite a lot that Mokona sensei changed the color at the end of the manga, after consistently drawing her blonde for 2 color pages, first because it's hard to get used to (at first glance my first thought was "WHO'S THIS? O_O), and then because my fanart is incorrect now 😂
But as you know, I always have to find the positive side to everything so I have to say that, while it'll take a while for me to get used to this change (should we consider it a permanent change or sensei just ran out of yellow copic?? 😂 *winks at her friends on a certain discord server*), I also appreciate it because it helps differentiating Lilie from her daughter even better 😊 especially considering they both have blue eyes now. They really would've looked like one another's clone (UGH O_O) if they kept it like that....
(Unless they want to change AGAIN Akiho's hair color too but then I'll riot).
Lilie appears here in all her glory and beauty, with a heavily decorated dress as per CLAMP's tradition, she looks like a goddess 🥹
The color scheme is similar to that of her clan robe: white-light blue-golden.
And no wings. Maybe this is from a time when she was still alive (she's got wings in the double spread with Nadeshiko).
Sooo finally the mystery of the color of her eyes is solved 😆 (I wonder why they dragged it so long?)
The JP text of the color page is simply the last thing she said to Sakura in last chapter before disappearing together with the dream: "I believe...in the two Alice".
We also get a big text informing everyone of the decision to produce a sequel to the Clear Card anime! A bit late, but the news finally came for the magazine readers too! 😊
You're Unique
The chapter starts with Sakura going back home from school, in the afternoon of the same day we left her off in chapter 72.
Kero and Suppi hear her from her room (are those Nintendo Switch Lite consoles? 😂) and they notice how she goes straight to Akiho's room today, without passing by her own room to drop her stuff first. From Kero and Suppi's words it's easy to infer that Sakura got a very close relationship with Akiho, and she often goes to talk to her after school. It's understandable, after all, they're convinced they have spent many years of their lives apart, and it's like they're really starting to know one another only now, so there's a special attachment between them. Attachment which Kero and Suppi don't miss to comment on, reiterating the "sister complex" comment that's honestly become the recurring joke of this series 😆
This also serves as an opportunity for Kero to comment on Touya, another Kinomoto sibling "plagued" with sister complex. 😆
Our elusive big brother seems to be staying at Yukito's today, and that's really not a weird thing in itself, but the fact that we couldn't see him ever since the forbidden spell was activated and we had the time skip, to see his reaction and whether he noticed something or not, is certainly suspicious. Suppi comments that even Nakuru is still staying at Yukito's home, and argues that it should be really time for them to go back home in England (he's had enough, poor Suppi 😂). Kero tells him that they can always come back as tourists in the future, and he will be their guide - Suppi agrees on one condition: that next time he must take them to a place where he doesn't need to pretend to be a plushie anymore 😆
So this apparently useless comedy skit actually manages to give us two interesting info: that Touya is at Yukito's place, apparently still eluding us (and Akiho??), but also that the forbidden spell didn't change the fact that Nakuru and Suppi came in Tomoeda, it's just that the memory change made them believe they simply came for tourism (of course, without Sakura's powers going berserk and failing to "feed" her creatures correctly, there wouldn't be any other need for them to come).
In the meantime, Sakura knocks on Akiho's door and she goes inside, school bag and coat still in her arms. She asks Akiho if she came back early, and she confirms that today there wasn't any choir practice (so confirming also that Akiho is still part of the choir at school - told you, everything is still the same as before!).
As soon as she enters, Sakura can't help but point out aloud how this room's plan is exactly the same as hers, but you can tell right away this is Akiho's room: it filled my heart with joy to see how the forbidden spell didn't change anything of Akiho's interests, she's still very much in love with books and got a tall bookcase full of them, and....my heart literally jumped when I saw a moon-shaped lamp on her nightstand!! CLAMP, are you toying with my heart? 😭🥹
Sakura remarks that despite everyone telling them they look very much alike, Akiho is actually her own distinct person.
Thank you, Ohkawa-sensei, for putting these words in Sakura's mouth. Thank you for clarifying to the whole fandom (who worried and in some cases complained about this so much) that no matter how much these two are told by other people how similar they are, each of them still retains their own unique personality, their hobbies, their interests, their dreams. You can really feel that their vibe is different. Not even magic can change that.
No two human beings are the same, CLAMP was very adamant on that concept even when they talked about clones in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. This is because our soul is unique across the universe(s). And these two are no exception. I always found so wholesome how none of them tries to "imitate" or "wish to have" something the other has. There's no need for jealousy. This is particularly true for Akiho whom, before the forbidden magic was activated, had experienced so much pain in her past and wasn't blessed with many things Sakura had instead. We haven't caught her envying Sakura, not even once, but actually admiring (it's different!) her friend for being able to do the things she didn't think she was capable of doing (remember her comment "Being able to do things by yourself without depending on others is amazing" ?), taking inspiration and even being brave enough to ask for help to improve in those aspects. That's not imitating, that's taking inspiration and strength from your loved ones to become a better person. This crucial theme will be reiterated in just a few pages.
The Pocket Watch
Akiho replies that the same goes for Sakura, she's also unique (JP, lit.: "There's just one Sakura-san in the world!") (I agree very much!) and Sakura bashfully laughs at that, when something catches her eye......a pocket watch, resting on a handkerchief on Akiho's desk, surrounded by certain tools. Kaito's pocket watch. The watch case is still broken, but the glass seem to have been repaired.
So, for those who thought that the watch had been inside Akiho due to the exchange with the artifact book, this actually clarifies the doubt at once, and I think it makes perfectly sense.
A book inside Akiho -> a book inside Kaito, and a pocket watch in Kaito's hands -> a pocket watch in Akiho's hands. The exchange is even.
Sakura seems surprised at the sight of it, and it's apparent it's the first time she sees it ever since Akiho came living with them.
Akiho explains that she found the watch back at Masaki's home, and no one knew how old this watch was or whom it belonged to.
And yet, it seems Akiho had the urge to have it repaired, she says they tried to bring it to many watch repair shops to make it work again, without any success.
Sakura asks Akiho if she's actually trying to repair it herself (since the tools on the desk seem to suggest she'd been trying to do so), and Akiho replies something that made my heart melt at once:
Akiho, JP: "I don't know why, but the moment I met (this watch), I thought I had to make it work again"
Akiho, JP: "Because I had the feeling it was very, very important (to me)"
Go on, CLAMP, keep stabbing my heart! 😭Gaaaah!! OF COURSE! Of course she would be getting that feeling!!
Whatever function that watch will have in the finale, it's always been strictly correlated to Kaito, it seems there's a deep connection to him as the weaker he got, the more damage the watch took (randomly breaking on its own at different points of the story).
It's as if Kaito literally left a part of him with her, consciously or not.
And Akiho saying that is a testament to the strong bond between those two.
A bond that not even a powerful, forbidden magic can erase. She might not remember now, but as soon as she found that "part of Kaito", her instinct told her to try to have it repaired at all costs, and in front of the failures of normal watch repair shops, she realized she had to try to make it work on her own. I'd like to think that it's because deep down she felt she was the only one capable to (this is actually what the French translation says, and although it's technically incorrect, it's a nice way to put it).
Akiho excuses herself for saying something weird (she didn't change even in that!), but as usual Sakura is super supportive of her and she tells her that she's absolutely sure she'll manage to make it work again. Foretelling powers, Sakura? 😏😆😆😆
This gives so much courage to Akiho, of course.
And taking the chance of "weird talks", Sakura decides it's time for another kind of strange talk.....she finally decides to tell everything to Akiho about her magic and what happened in the years they spent apart, just like she announced in chapter 71!!
We skip directly all the details we know all too well and get directly to Akiho's reaction, which is speechless at first (with Sakura fussing and apologizing that she blurted it all out on her and overwhelmed her 😂) but then excitedly thanks her sister for telling her about this, she's delighted because it feels just like a story coming out of one of the books she usually reads, and actually wants to hear more (complete with her usual 'excited flowers' like I usually call them 😂)!!
Aaaah, it was so nice to see her reaction because it was exactly what I've been expecting from her.
Akiho adds something really, really important:
Akiho, JP: I just thought, 'We're twins, and yet so different, and that makes me so happy'.
Akiho, JP: I can't use magic, but... If there's something you can't do and I happen to be good at it, then I might be able to help you out, precisely because we're different.
The wording the ENG version uses is also very good, I liked how they specified (even if not present in the original text) "It's good we're different". Because it's very important.
And then, in the very next panel, a surprise: Akiho (involuntarily) quotes her own young mother Lilie in chapter 72, expressing herself with the same words, gesture and all, saying "It's what I can do...and what I can't...that makes me who I am".
As you can see above, Akiho and Lilie are almost identical, save for Akiho's cowlick and the length of the hair. Little trivia: the line both girls are saying uses the very same words, except for the pronoun 私 / わたし, which is assigned appropriately basing on how it's usually written when the two characters are speaking - 私 for Lilie, and わたし for Akiho.
I absolutely loved this line in last chapter and I felt it had even more significance now, coming from Akiho's mouth, in fact it's so important that it's Akiho speaking in this whole scene (and not Sakura).
Because ever since she appeared in chapter 7, she's been considered as someone very similar to Sakura, and sometimes perceived by the readers as someone who wanted to steal her spot, her friends, her capabilities, long story short, to steal her identity.
But nothing could be farther from the truth.
You can be told you're similar to someone else how much you want, but you'll always going to be your own person in the end. Even freaking twins aren't the same person, after all. Each one of us is unique, with our qualities, good sides, bad sides, peculiarities, quirks, personal baggage, no one can take our place in the world.
Our identity is the most precious thing we have and it's important we try to do our best to know ourselves the best that we can (heard that, Kaito???), so we don't end up doing just that, trying to live someone else's life, which is always going to be a lie anyway.
As I was saying before, Akiho never tried to live Sakura's life and is well aware of her qualities and limits, and is accepting that.
The Magic I've been Preparing
Luckily, this involuntary reenactment of Lilie's scene of last chaper gives the spark to Sakura to remember she had heard those same words before.
"The same words...?" "And the same feelings (they gave to me)".
And right after that, Sakura also remembers that she has to find the important magic she had been preparing.
Akiho says that if this is about magic, she probably won't be able to see it, but Sakura answers that she can't see it either, and wonders why....so, what to do?
Akiho thinks. She looks at her books. And they give her an idea.
She tells Sakura that she's read a book once where a magician hid his familiar from other magicians so they couldn't find it, and this familiar would show itself only when its magician called its name.
Sakura starts having the realization this could be the right track.
And here we have our first real translation difference of this chapter, although not particularly serious like the ones that will follow:
Akiho, ENG: I'm sure to you, this magic is very important...but to me it'd be like....something out of a book.
Akiho, JP: I'm sure this is a very important magic to you...just like a book would be for me.
As you can see, the meaning is different, quite the opposite actually. Akiho isn't dismissing Sakura's magic as something like a fictional story out of a book, but actually she's telling her she understands that this magic must be very important to her, just like books are to Akiho.
And "books" is all Sakura needs to hear to get more recollections of something she heard before, this time even from the facts of Clockland itself! (This is huge! Because it's coming from their life before the forbidden magic was activated! She's defeating the magic that's trying to keep her memories changed, she is JUST THAT AMAZING OKAY)
"Books are people's memories...they're RECORDS"
See why it was so important to keep the word "records" in the past chapter, whenever the word 記録 came up in the Japanese text?
Because 記録 is also the kanji spelling of a Clear Card we were all waiting to see, in fact....Sakura utters "RECORD"!
The Record Card appears out of nowhere, responding to the call, surprising the two girls when it starts displaying a recorded scene: from what we can see in the blurry "screen" (we can see the couch and the door of Syaoran's living room), this really looks like a scene (that we didn't see depicted in the manga) coming straight after Sakura captured the Dreaming Card and confessed to Syaoran about her recurring dreams in chapter 46. In that occasion, Sakura used the Record Card to show him what she saw, but apparently after that Syaoran proposed to keep the Record Card perpetually turned on to record whatever happened, since Sakura sometimes created Cards without having knowledge of how she did it, and couldn't shake the feeling that someone was making her forget things. In this way, they would've been able to check what happened in case they were made to forget again. From the "video", we see Sakura apologizing to Record and asking to the Card to stay hidden till she would've called the Card's name again.
Which is exactly what happened now. Sakura is surprised because she understands that this is a new Card that she's been making on her own.
But then, the "video" changes to another scene, that happened later on the story and we probably remember well because it often comes up in the fandom's questions about the unresolved mysteries of this story: the scene of chapter 59, when Momo visited the Kinomoto home, unbeknownst to Kaito. Finally we get to see what happened afterwards.
Momo knows the Record Card is present in the room, so she asks to the Card to be recorded, and addresses Sakura directly.
Much to both Sakura and Akiho's surprise, she introduces herself once again as Momo, guardian of a "certain book", telling Sakura that this isn't the first time she meets her in this form, but since time had been rewound, she must have forgotten about it.
With a very painful expression (that made my heart squeeze, I'm weak against Momo's suffering), Momo says that she knows what's going to happen, and she cannot stop it. She also explains why, indirectly addressing other questions from the fandom as to why she never interfered more, if she didn't want Kaito to go on with his plan:
Momo, JP: A guardian cannot show bias towards "white" or "black". We must always stay impartial. So I cannot tell you, nor Akiho, about the core of this matter.
The ENG version is also good, but they translated "white" as "light" and "black" as "darkness" and while I can see why they did that and it could also work well, it ends up hiding the reference to her personal color scheme: on her outfit, but also in the Clockland world that she created on Kaito's request. Everything is black and white.
An indication that she's always, constantly reminded of her duty as an impartial guardian, to never lean towards one or the other side (this is something that even Kaito reminded her of precisely in Clockland, becoming irritated that she was giving "hints" to Sakura).
And therefore, she's got her hands more tied than ever, unable to tell anything not only to Sakura, but to Akiho too. How many problems we could've avoided if she was able to tell Akiho the truth about this? This is also probably the reason why she had to hide from her and take the guise of a bunny plushie: she needed to protect her, but at the same time she couldn't interact with her. It would've probably been impossible to stay neutral, with Akiho.
If Momo's situation wasn't already unfortunate to begin with, having a contract with a boy she ended up caring about, who's literally risked his life to protect his most important person, we also get told to what extent she wasn't allowed to interfere, and get a glimpse of how painful that must be.
To be honest, when this will be over, I really hope the Time Book gets destroyed and Momo freed from her duty over it, so she can finally have a normal life, free to interact with her beloved kids as much as she wants.
"The Boy"
Akiho hears Momo calling her name, though she doesn't seem to have any recollection of her beloved plushie (a bit sad for me).
It's kinda "ironic" that she gets to "meet" the true form of the one creature who stayed by her side the most in her "old life", and she doesn't even realize it, nor remembers about who this creature is. How could she, her memories not only have been messed up with, but she also just knew her as a plushie, after all!
Momo shows that she isn't stupid. She says that she knows "the boy" is hiding something concerning the "forbidden magic" he wants to activate, but she's sure he won't ever tell her anything about it...
So Momo knew Kaito was lying about something (the exchange of the two artifacts), but still wouldn't have had any way to know exactly the details of it.
Upon hearing the word "the boy", Akiho literally lights up, wondering "...The boy?". Her soul responds to it, as if knowing exactly whom Momo is talking about (loved it!! this is the kind of reactions I was waiting for, from her! ❤️).
As usual, Kaito gets called "the boy", and when I was checking the Spanish translation I was a bit sad to see that they removed any reference to that word, making Akiho ask "who?" instead.
Of course Momo can't mention his name, not even his fake one, because she's bound by a contract.
Momo explains that once the forbidden spell will get activated, the Record Card would disappear too (just like the other Clear Cards).
And here we have one of the biggest translation mistakes of this chapter, of course when there's a major scene!!
Momo slowly removes her crown, and with magic she brings it back to its original state: the ring Lilie gave to her long time ago.
Remember? Lilie said she was going to make a request to Momo, and we saw a flashback of her removing the ring her fiancé gave her (a ring enchanted with a protection spell) to put it on the ear of Momo's plushie form.
While Momo shrinks it back to its ring form, she says:
Momo, ENG: So that he'll never find you...and so that you'll never go away, no matter what happens...I'm going to cast a spell.
Momo, JP: So, in order to never let him find it (note: the Record Card), and so that it'll stay (note: survive even after the forbidden magic) no matter what happens...I'm going to cast a spell.
As you can see, in the ENG version Momo is saying "you", as if she's talking directly to Sakura, and so, as if she were going to cast a spell to hide her (?) from Kaito, and so that she'll never go away (??).
Honestly, you can see by yourself that it doesn't make sense.
Maybe with that "you" she was talking directly to the Record Card, in the translator's head? Well, very counterintuitive to translate it like that, of course it's gonna cause confusion because here Momo is addressing Sakura directly.
No, the correct interpretation is that Momo is talking about the Record Card, while explaining to Sakura what she's about to do.
And, unfortunately, I'm not done complaining about this month's translation yet (god, they were doing so okay in the first part!).
Momo, ENG: I have held what I need to cast it...since long before I entered into my contract...with the boy.
Momo, JP: And I've already received the price needed to do that, long before I entered into my contract with that boy.
The ENG translation makes it sound like the ring Record is showing was somehow necessary to Momo in order to cast the spell. It isn't exactly like that. The ring was seemingly THE PRICE Lilie paid in advance, in order to make a wish to Momo and have it granted.
Yes, exactly like the customers do with Yuuko. But also what Yukito had to do to obtain the powers from the divinity of the Tsukimine Shrine. Basically it's safe to say that if you have a wish in any CLAMP series, you'll always have to pay something of equal value in exchange. And removing the word price from here, wording it in that misleading way, is honestly really annoying. We're reading a CLAMP manga, we love to see keywords and references to common CLAMP tropes and thematics present in other works too, when they've been put there on purpose by CLAMP. Can you please keep them, K-USA??
Note that here, we shouldn't give 100% for granted that the ring was exactly the price Lilie paid. It could be that, but also something related to the ring, something not physical. Like the fact that Lilie remained unprotected after giving the ring away (for a further purpose in the future). Some people gave away their time, freedom, luck as a price, in other works. Maybe it's something along those lines, and the ring gets to be passed over to those who need it the most now. Or maybe it was really the ring all along, I'm just pointing out that there are multiple options here to take into consideration.
We see Momo holding the ring between two fingers, and on the other side of the screen, Sakura's hand takes the same pose, with some "magic sparkles" around it: did Momo indeed pass the ring to her, magically? It's pretty unclear but it's legit to imagine so.
Momo continues saying that there are other Cards that haven't disappeared yet (beware, the Spanish version here seems to be implying that ALL of Sakura's Clear Cards haven't disappeared, but from how it's phrased that's not what the JP text is saying here, and the ENG translation is actually right - wtf is happening, hahahah), and they're waiting for Sakura to call them. Yes, just like she did with Record.
Then, Momo finally tells her "(please,) Remember" (and not "find them" like in the ENG version!), and Record turns into a magic crystal, the same that appeared everytime Sakura captured a Clear Card, magically going through Sakura's chest. Yes.
Should we say "stabbing" her? 😂😂Good lord was this imagery really necessary?? Moreover, people are also being reminded of how the feathers used to enter Sakura's body in Tsubasa exactly like this 😂😂😂it's a continuous reference-fest, with Tsubasa....
Sooo, as you have guessed, Sakura starts recovering all the memories of her life before the forbidden magic was activated: in this beautiful display of countless film strips we can see many scenes coming from the most disparate chapters, mostly related to Sakura (shots from the Two Alice play are included, but NOT futher than that, so I don't know what's the situation for what concerns what happened in Clockland). We can see many characters in those strips, Momo included (so she recovered also her memories that were erased by the time rewindings - I knew she would!! ) but....there's still one major absentee in those memories: Kaito.
And yet. Sakura opens her eyes, after processing all the memories that came back to her. And her eyes are filled with tears, tears and extreme sadness. Akiho, of course, gets immediately anxious when she sees her like that. Sakura runs to the one whom she probably knows by now is not really her sister, to hug her tight. This is a scene that's very reminiscent of when she hugged Akiho in chapter 35 after witnessing Akiho's past on her skin. She didn't know how or why, but her intuition and empathy told her that she had witnessed something related to Akiho.
And that's exactly what's happening here too.
I'm not sure if Sakura saw Kaito, in those memories (while not being shown to us).
But I'm fairly sure that what's making her cry, thanks to her awesome intuition and empathy, is the blind awareness that they lost someone along the way. Someone very, very important to Akiho, hence why she runs to hug her tight. And that can't help but breaking Sakura's heart too, because she loves Akiho and she would never want to see her "sister" suffer a loss of that magnitude. She knows what it feels like, she had to scold Syaoran before for that same risk.
Therefore, with one of the most determined faces I've ever seen her making, she utters:
Sakura, JP: Let's get it back. The thing/the person you didn't want to lose.
There's a lot to say about this last line of the chapter.
First of all, the interpretation: the international translations have interpreted in different ways this line, because there isn't a subject or a clear specification of what they're talking about.
Some translations made Sakura say something like "I've got to take back what we should've never have lost", like the ENG and BR-PT versions did, making Kaito's disappearance her matter too...
Some others decided to translate in a way that's more personal to Akiho, like "Let's get back what you never wanted to lose", like the FR and ESP did.
This is possible because this line uses the word もの, which can both mean "thing" but also the hiragana reading of 者, "person" (as usual, a clever way from Ohkawa to not disclose who she's talking about yet, even though we all know).
At the same time, it also doesn't specify who is the subject of the verb "didn't want to lose": it could be Akiho, or Sakura and Akiho together, just as each translation decided to infer.
Therefore I'm not inclined to indicate one or the other as the correct one, though I have to say that the idea of Sakura making it a personal matter too despite knowing Kaito very little, just because she's that much empathetic, kind and genuine, is quite endearing.
Kaito made Akiho feel loved, the happiest, and that alone is enough for Sakura to put up her warrior queen face (seriously, it's so heartbreaking but also beautiful) and declare war to whatever is keeping him away from them, trying to get him back.
Ohkawa did say it, in one of the last Twitter Spaces where she talked about the upcoming events of the finale: "Sakura will take care of it in her own way".
One last thing, this line is also a reference to what Touya told Sakura in chapter 58, that night when he prepared the honey milk to her, after his sister asked him "What do you do when you don't know what's true and what's not?" and he told her...."I choose what I don't want to loose".
And that's exactly what Sakura is doing right now. We knew this advice sooner or later would've come useful.
Sakura chose to bring back what they shouldn't lose. A precious existence that deserves a second chance.
Sakura made her choice. She's on board with this. Will Akiho make the same choice? (don't you dare, it's a rhetoric question!! 😂)
Surprisingly enough, for this chapter we have an editorial text in vertical, on the right side of the last page, which translates to: "A wish entrusted from the past, (what will) Sakura (do)...?"
Aaaaand here we are, we reached the end of the chapter.
31 pages...we're back to longer chapters, as expected from those very close to the grand finale! We're currently 79 pages in for volume 15.
It is interesting to note that, as I'm writing this post, no notice of "2 chapters to the end" or anything like that was printed on the Japanese color page (but there still could be something in the usual color ads page - I'd need to check the actual Nakayoshi magazine for that).
Aside from the things I have already mentioned in the post above, I have to say I really loved to see Sakura and Akiho collaborating (and so immediately after Sakura revealed everything connected to magic to her sister!), effectively putting at work Akiho's extensive knowledge thanks to all the books she reads! Her suggestion of "calling" the magic Sakura was looking for, because it was hiding, was super useful and put into practice something she just had mentioned a few pages before: if you need me for something I happen to be good at, I'll always help you. That's what's good in us being different.
Talking with an user on a Discord server, it was mentioned something that I personally really agree with and I would like to talk more extensively in a separate post (maybe someone can send an ask about it so I have the excuse? 😂), which is the fact that in this chapter Sakura talked honestly and clearly with an open heart to Akiho, trusting her reaction to be strong and positive enough, and that lead to a quick resolution of an immediate problem they had, as opposed to the other characters of the cast (Syaoran, Eriol, Kaito etc) who did things on their own, hiding - and even lying in some cases - to protect their loved ones, leading to unforeseen or terrible consequences (Kaito is the extreme example). I think there's definitely a fil rouge here connecting these situations.
Well, this post unfortunately already turned too long so I guess I'll have to stop here, but I'll be glad to answer to asks, if you want to discuss something else (or get more clarifications!).
If you found this post useful, if it helped you clarifying some things, please share it - I'm always told of people being so confused by this finale and if I can help in any way I'd be only happy about that, but my posts need to reach those people first.
Chapter 74 is slated to be released on May 31st on CLAMP's Youtube channel (digital), and on June 2nd on Nakayoshi (digital and paper). The next Nakayoshi magazine will come with Sakura on the cover, the chapter being at the very beginning of the magazine (so it's probably going to be a double color page) and even a furoku - a pretty SyaoSaku foldable fan!
I'm not sure how things will be with the release of the new K-Manga app, so for now I'm not gonna include it here.
See you next time!!
#card captor sakura#cardcaptor sakura#ccsakura#clear card arc#ccs spoilers#sakura card captor#kinomoto sakura#akiho shinomoto#chapter 73#translation differences
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Comparing CV and NFCV designs
I was having thoughts about how game designs were translated to the show. While I'm not a character design expert, I ended up having a fair bit to say, because most of the changes are fascinating, for better or for worse :P
1) Sypha
She's the only character I would say that was improved over the game version.
While Sypha never starred in any game post-CV3, and wasn't redesigned by Ayami Kojima like Trevor and Alucard were (excluding a cameo in PtR), we know what she looks like by her ending sprite of CV3 and the Fake Sypha of SoTN:
Yet another long-blonde-haired woman. Like pretty much every other woman in CV with few exceptions. She's carried by her mage outfit and her big hood that give her a mystique air, but I don't blame the showrunners for redesigning her.
Giving her short, reddish hair was a great choice IMO. It's a very cute haircut that doesn't fall into the "Stronk Female Character" stereotype (think Zafir essentially lol). Too bad they didn't even attempt the whole "secretly a man" plot point because it would have worked pretty well. Her clothes are simple, and I wish she hid herself in the hood more, but they work for her character. Full thumbs up!
2) Dracula
I'll use the Dracula from SoTN and CoD as reference, since those are the designs that inspired the one from the show.
His SoTN design is iconic, a true classy villain that inspires awe, and surprisingly faithful to the description in Bram Stoker's book. His CoD design isn't bad, very similar in features to the previous one, but with clothes more inspired to his "Classic" style, which makes sense. (the spiked wings are particularly cool)
... but I must confess that I prefer Dracula with black hair rather than white:
I know that LoI didn't happen in NFCV, but it would make more sense for the original Dracula. He could have looked like an older Mathias by the time of CV3... then the grief of losing Lisa would turn his hair white, as we see in CoD and after. Also it's just aesthetically more pleasing lol.
I like the outfit as well. The top is inspired from the CoD outfit, where he looked like a sorcerer, and the bottom is inspired from the SoTN outfit, where he looked like a noble (he wears boots, hidden here). Not particularly elegant, but then again this Dracula is neither of those things, so it works well enough.
It's ranked below Sypha simply because, well, it's just Dracula with a dye job, not much effort went into here. Hell, Kojima herself considered the idea first:
But it's a small change that works wonders and I like him a lot!
3) St. Germain
In CoD, St. Germain was meant to look very out of place:
He wears anachronistic clothes, and even his body build is unusual for the style. You can tell before he opens his mouth that something's up with him.
In the show, having a different background, he had to be redesigned:
He looks more time appropriate and stockier, but still recognizeable as the original character in physical traits. They even kept the hourglass!
I have little to add. The two characters serve different purposes, so they have to look different, and both work. I don't prefer one over the other, which is good enough. It was also a cute easter egg that N!St. Germain at one point wore the original outfit.
4) Trevor
Now we're getting into "obvious downgrades compared to the original" territory, but Trevor still looks fine for what he is:
Handsome in a scruffy way, combat ready (especially after ditching the cape), and with noble heritage. Nothing near as iconic as his CoD design, which looks both elegant and as combat ready as a veteran vampire hunter should be...
... but again, it's fine for the kind of character this Trevor is, and he's still aesthetically pleasing.
I do question, however, why Trevor starts out with his scar. In CoD, he got the scars on his eye and chest after the fight with Dracula, to mark him as a survivor of the Dark Lord at the peak of his strength. Giving it to Trevor simply because he got in trouble with humans is cheapening it.
5) Hector
Hector has the dubious honor of being one of the few characters who looks nearly identical to his game counterpart. As you can tell by the placing of the designs, I don't like this choice (Dracula notwithstanding because the black hair really is an improvement IMO), because they end up looking like discount versions of the beautiful Kojima designs.
Still, what more or less saves Hector is that his design had to be simplified, because man there is a lot going on here:
Hector's design conveys two important factors: he's a knight, and he's proficient in combat. The outfit's not elegant, but it's protective - look at the armor on his chest, his boots, and the guard on his left arm. His clothes overall look sturdy and comfortable enough to run and fight. He also has a ton of details that would be a nightmare to animate, such as the holes in his sleeves and pants, the chains, the skewed belt...
The simplification here was done with the right amount of care. The holes have become a motif, and the sleeves are no longer asymmetrical in color; same for the holes in the pants. The armor and boots still share the same motif, even without the detail that made them look protective (in fact, the armor is more visibly made of metal here, while in Kojima's style it's hard to tell if it's metal or leather). The belt has become a singular object, and most importantly they removed the black ribbon wrapped around the sash - it was most likely an accidental choice, but since that is Rosaly's ribbon, and ofc Hector wouldn't have it in this version, it was the right call.
There are, however, some problems with this. All these compromises make for a weird design in the context of the show: no other character has this extravagant design, even with all the simplifications. I'll explain later that he's especially jarring contrasted with Isaac. Also, it simply doesn't fit the character: this version of Hector is infamously completely ineffectual in battle, spends most of his screentime being used and tortured, and never once swings a weapon at an opponent (perhaps this is why he looks like he lost all muscle mass lol). Just look at the glove on his right hand: the reason the real Hector wears it is as protection when he uses his sword. Hector from the show doesn't even have a sword! That glove is completely useless for a blacksmith like he's supposed to be!
As a plus, this is what Hector is supposed to wear when employed under Dracula:
They gave Isaac the correct uniform (and I will have words about it). Hector started to wear his CoD clothes after he decided to run all over Wallachia to chase Isaac. Again, the outfit is not for work, it's for combat.
But it's not just the clothing that changed. On a positive note, I like his darker skin: Hector here is canonically Greek, and I appreciate it. I would like to see this bronze skin tone with game Hector's silver hair. On a negative note, however, this Hector's hair is very bad: not only it's a dull grey and not shiny silver, but the haircut is simply unflattering - why did they cut off the tips like that? It falls very badly around his face, it looks like a cheap, static wig.
(i'm not even going to deign words for how they drew child hector. that thing has suffered enough)
Overall, I don't know why they bothered to recreate the same design when it simply doesn't fit the character, and the character in general just looks like a downgrade, but I can accept the compromises in a vacuum. It helps that Hector's original design is just that good.
6) Lisa
Lisa also looks identical to her game counterpart, perhaps because there was no need to waste time for a minor character.
She's female Alucard with a typical mom ponytail. Nothing much to say.
And I will only say one thing about Lisa in the show.
Man is the style so damn unflattering for her.
She can look better depending on the artist...
But I'm not giving points for literally copying Kojima's design and doing it poorly.
7) Alucard
Alucard's design by Kojima is one of the most iconic in videogame history.
Look at him. Pure, effortless elegance. An absolute prince, graceful and deadly. The sheer amount of detail in his clothing are a fashion designer's dream. You cannot top this. Which is why I imagine the show didn't even attempt to.
... but what the actual fuck am I looking at here.
Again. Simplification was in order, I get it, I understand. But... really? Really. You did this to Alucard. You gave him the shittiest V-neck shirt and pants I could buy at the thrift store? Where is the elegance? Where is the nobility? Just having a long coat isn't enough to recreate the same style!
I also resent the scar on his chest, given to him by Dracula (unlike Trevor). That is the true reason he wears the shitty V-neck shirt. His S4 design all but proves it:
Now this is just nonsensical. What's the point of wearing a cape and a coat, but still going around with your whole chest out? I mean. We all know why. But it's ridiculous.
This is why Alucard ranks far lower than Hector and Lisa: his design has cheap fanservice as its priority, and I find that disrespectful towards the character and the audience. Plus, much like Lisa, the style is very unflattering to him.
I don't know what to tell you, guys. I just find him ugly, even in the best shots.
8) Carmilla
Comparing the two Carmillas isn't even worth it, but then again I could say the same about Isaac, and I don't want to be unfair :P
This is the most famous design for Carmilla in the games:
A giant, masked, naked woman riding a skull crying bloody tears. Nothing like any other foe in the series, and absolutely raw.
We also have "Camilla" from CotM:
Aww, she's cute. She's so pink and frilly! She has fins in her hair! Hard to imagine her as a villain. But don't worry, she also turns into a giant naked demon lady riding a skull:
So the showrunners had some good ideas to transport into the show.
... And they went for the most generic "sexy female villain" design they could.
She's not ugly, but... she's just boring. This design fits her to a T because her whole character is boring. They didn't even give her a mask, or a skull motif. Nothing. It's just a forgettable sexy #girlboss. Disappointing. Even the dress is boring - does this thing even have shading?
I guess they recycled the idea of a cute vampire villain for Lenore, but she's outside the scope of this list, so.
9) Isaac
And finally we get to the worst downgrade in the whole show :)
Where do I even begin with this guy. He's unlike any other character designed by Kojima, but not to the point of looking like he doesn't belong. What matters is that you can tell everything you need to know about him at first glance, and first and foremost: he's the peak of flamboyancy and insanity. You are not going to forget Isaac very soon lol.
But it's all the details that make the picture. He's red and black, marking him as a foil to Hector who is blue and silver. His outfit is obviously similar to Hector's, but fallen off of him and rotten (the "armor" on his chest resembles Hector's own, just stripped down). He has long forgotten anything resembling "sturdy and comfortable", but the bloodied spear tells us he's still a formidable fighter. The hair is anachronistic to say the least, but the way the bangs cover a side of his face contrasts Hector's billowing hair and draws attention to the tattoo on his face. He is covered head to toe with intricate tattoos, that must have been painful to get: a show of strength, loyalty, or masochism, you decide. Among these, he proudly displays a tattoo in the shape of the Devil Forgemaster crest on his back: this, along with the collar, tell us that he's slavishly devoted to his master.
This is Isaac's character, and the design does a fantastic job at telling us everything we need to know without even needing him to move or speak. I would say that his main characteristics are the color red (the hair, mostly) and the tattoos.
Yeah, good job not keeping a damn thing that made him recognizeable.
This is a dude. This is a completely average dude who rolled into the set and stole a costume for the role. No, giving him red eyes and a few dots on his face is not enough to give him an unique, memorable design. He's bland... neutered. And they absolutely did it on purpose, because this design is the complete opposite of the controversial original above - this Isaac is serious and "deep", not a gay clown, duhhh.
They don't even deserve credit for the uniform:
And may I say that Kojima, being an artist on a whole different level, was able to make the cossacks look elegant and dynamic, while N!Isaac above looks flat and boring.
Also, in PtR, Hector and Isaac match:
Because they're wearing a uniform. They have the same job and the same role, so they are wearing the same clothes. It's common sense. (it also makes more satisfying when at the end they diverge, displaying more of their personalities)
In the show, they do not:
Why is Hector, the ineffectual non-fighter, wearing combat clothes, while Isaac, the sharp and strong fighter, is wearing a full vest? Why is Hector wearing blue and Isaac is wearing black? Why do they have different crests on their armor???? IT'S A UNIFORM!
This is what happens when you browse the wiki without actually doing research on what the elements you're referencing mean.
Also, blue and black? Nowhere near as striking as blue and red. Isaac has something of a red motif in the show, only in his magic, but his personality doesn't match it. Even worse, Isaac wears blue in S4. Because he's not a foil to Hector, he is Hector but worse.
As for the tattoos, obviously I would never expect all those intricate tattoos in an animated show, but it would have been cool if he had at least the Devil Forgemaster one (even the extremely simplified version on this Hector's back), since even this Isaac starts out as being blindly loyal to Dracula. Instead, they thought that Isaac has a fetish for pain, and they gave show Isaac the habit of flagellating himself... which then got attributed to religion, and then was dropped lol. His actual tattoos are... weird? And overall they hardly matter, since they're concealed most of the time. Unlike game Isaac's tattoos, they don't convey anything about his character.
As you can guess, the reason Isaac is my least favorite design is that he's not just a downgrade: he's a downgrade that pretends, and is accepted, to be an upgrade. You can feel the contempt against the real Isaac, by showrunners who didn't bother to understand the character and hastly rewrote him to "fix" him. Isaac was deliberately neutered because the show thought itself too superior... although in retrospect it's funny, since they allowed a pink haired BDSM vampire in Nocturne...
#anti netflixvania#just in case#mostly anti by the second half#i was very charitable in the first one lol#dunno i need to share my thoughts sometimes
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Collecting up my Celeborn fics!
People were being weird to me about Celeborn elsewhere once again (why, whyyyyyyyyy), and this reminded me I wanted to collect up all the stories I'd written about him, so! These are a collection of Silmarillion/LOTR and Rings of Power canon (but since we don't know much about him in that yet, my headcanon TROP Celeborn is the Doriathrin prince version of his many canon backgrounds).
Softest of Tongues (Silm-LOTR) - Galadriel/Celeborn, from the First Age to the Third, canon-compliant, tagged ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis as metaphor for pain at the heart of your marriage’. Silmarillion and LOTR.
Fair as the Sea and the Sun (LOTR) - Galadriel/Celeborn, Galadriel takes the Ring from Frodo.
All the kinds of alive you can be (TROP) - Sauron/Galadriel/Celeborn and all component ships thereof. What if Sauron shapechanged to look like Galadriel, wouldn’t that be fun :)
Say it like the sunrise when it’s talking to the fog (LOTR) - Celeborn/Glorfindel, Celeborn/Galadriel. Glorfindel has come back from the dead a little too bright.
Civil Twilight (TROP), Galadriel/Celeborn, Galadriel/Sauron - Galadriel and Celeborn reunion that goes somewhat poorly but gets better. Also Haladriel.
All that Glitters (TROP) - a story about where on earth he is in Rings of Power.
Rarer gifts than gold (Silm) - Celeborn/Annatar. Because I like the idea of one of Annatar’s gifts being to whisper the names of all the dead of Doriath when nobody else in Eregion dares mention it.
A Green Thought in a Green Shade (TROP) - Galadriel/Celeborn, another TROP reunion fic, playing around with the good old amnesia trope.
When all the leaves are gold (Silm) - Galadriel/Celeborn, Doriath is creepy and so are the Noldor.
So Wide a Sea (TROP and LOTR) - Galadriel/Sauron and Galadriel/Celeborn; Galadriel before her final ship departs.
To hold all the promise of blue-velvet dark (TROP) - Celeborn/Sauron and Celeborn/Galadriel, more Sauron shapechanging into Galadriel featuring half-Maia Amroth.
And a collection of TROP ficlets of Celeborn raising half-Maia Celebrían in the best Tolkien tradition of Dad Who Stepped Up, Celeborn/Galadriel and Galadriel/Sauron:
Suo Gân - Arda Sahta - As little might be thought.
#celeborn#galadriel x celeborn#celeborn x sauron#celedriel#tolkien fic#lotr fic#silmarillion fic#rings of power#rings of power fic#celeborn x glorfindel#eyeofacat fic#i swear this elf has caused me more fandom drama than actual Sauron
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Speculation: Bullet Farmer Recast
As of the time of this writing, we don't know who will be playing the Bullet Farmer in "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga." We don't have hard confirmation that the character will even appear, but since we're seeing a younger Joe and a location that could be the Bullet Farm, I think it's reasonable to speculate that our dearly beloved bandolier-clad warlord could return. And speculation can be fun, so let's dive in.
Who would be playing the Bullet Farmer? Glancing at the cast list on IMDB and some leaked photos, something stood out to me. I think it's possible that David Collins is our new Kalashnikov.
Let's start with some basics. Collins is a 54-year-old Australian comedian. Richard Carter, the OG Bullet Farmer, also had a background in comedy. (Hoping this means we get some more deadpan snarking and hammy moments in the film.) Also, Collins' facial structure is vaguely similar.
A degree of likeness is no guarantee, of course. However, there are some leaked set photos and social media posts that have me wondering about the nature of Collins' character. Mad Max Bible, a fairly reliable source for leaks, has speculated that Collins could be playing the Farmer. (Again, just speculation.)
Let's see how Collins will look in the movie.
These are images he posted on Instagram. Seems like his character will have long-ish hair and a beard. Not very Kalashnikov, so who knows. Now let's look at some leaked set photos.
Interesting goggles, wish we could see them better. Here's another look.
...Interesting headgear. The headgear, goggles, and overall outfit are kind of giving Kalashnikov. Kind of like a stripped-down, bullet-free version of his usual look, with the baggy combat fatigues seen below all those bandoliers.
It's also worth noting that Collins was flown to the set along with Matuse Paz and CJ Bloomfield, two guys who would look fantastic as Bullet Farm imperators. These three seem to be hanging out a fair bit, based on what Collins has on his Insta page.
And again, it's entirely possible that we haven't seen the Bullet Farmer yet. Or that the character won't be in the film. Collins could be playing someone completely unrelated. But hey, no harm in speculating, especially if we acknowledge we're just taking shots in the dark. Pun intended.
#mad max#furiosa#furiosa a mad max saga#bullet farmer#richard carter#david collins#mad max fury road
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What has been your favorite Halloween set they've done so far?
I don't remember all of them so I'll take this time to rank each of them... p sure somebody's done this before or maybe it was a gifset. anyway
2013: Bonus points for the one and only time they wore costumes, it's cute in how simple and stripped back it is (they did good with what they had) but they've done better since then. 3/10
2014: I'm sorry no offense to the Milwaukee Brumder Mansion but this looks exactly like what it is, which is a boring old "haunted house" decorated with very drab and depressing things that are supposed to give you a slight uncanny feeling and that's it. It's not fun at all 1/10
2015: This is like a slightly lighting-wise improved version of the first one but there's no costumes so it loses a point because that was the only thing that made the former version interesting. 2/10
2016: ig the theme is cute, hanging out in a halloween-decorated-backyard i presume but ultimately its ugly it looks like somehow christmas came before halloween and they tacked on some pumpkins on the fence. They should get rid of those camping chairs already 3/10
2017: I'd like a redo of this dungeon ngl with more stuff in the bg this is another one of those v flat ones that aren't interesting 2/10
2018: nice lighting on them for this one, the concept of sitting around in a pumpkin-patch-esque field with hay bales and a scarecrow is cute. Maybe my judgement is being skewed by the fact that I know this one was where they got drunk. 4/10
2019: A very gaudy beautiful colorful set, more on the fantastical side rather than a specific location like the others so far, the lighting around them is gorgeous, it's not too dark and you can see both them and the decorations in distinct ways 10/10
2020: If they weren't going to put on clothes that didn't make them blend in with the trees and tombstones in the background they should've lit themselves in a way that made them stand out among the foreground (cauldron, floor) and the trees right behind them being pitch-black. Hate it 3/10
2021: Naw....... didn't like this one. It gets a bonus point for pretty dolly shots but its a bit too flat for me (everything is bathed in purple) in a not fun way. 4/10
2022: ugly. I don't feel much like I'm in a cool cave. Why did they make that one last cave layer that round somehow it's bothering me sm. Bonus points for the big spider 3/10
So there you go anon the answer was the 2019 one
#blortchmod#jay#mike#rich#tim#jack#josh#jessi#like always when rlm do good they do Good and otherwise they're very flat and drab
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(Some of) My retrospective grievances Bakugan
I loved Bakugan growing up--and for the most part, the first two seasons hold up. That said, I did want to mention things about the series that I wish they'd done better. Some of it's nit-picks, and some of it is stuff that really annoyed me. I don't recall everything, so be sure to let me know if I misremembered some things!
There's NO WAY Dan, Shun, and Runo were 11 years old (in the Japanese version; they were 12 in the English version, which is still unbelievable to me). I'd buy that everyone on the team was 16-18 and Marucho was 12.
I wish the parents and more adults in general were more involved in Bakugan. Magical creatures and cards that put you in another dimension fall from the sky and it's mostly just young people who use them? It feels like parents would at least be more concerned about what's going on, but Dan's parents aren't super involved--heck, I remember being surprised that he had a dad! That's something we never see from Yugi (whose dad is always on a business trip) and Ash (whose dad is a mystery).
Terrible treatment t of female characters. Julie, Alice, and Runo were great members of the team, but they were essentially removed from the show in season 2 because Drago only wanted to involve Dan. That'd be fine, but Marucho tagged along too, and Shun found his way there, too--and the male/female ratio was thrown off enormously, because we got a lot of new male characters, and very few new female characters.
Give more information on the location of the characters. Julie is from Australia and Alice is from Russia. Aside from missing accents, I'd have liked to have seen how Bakugan affected the different countries/cultures.
More backstories for the characters. I recall Shun's backstory and how it ties into his relationship with Skyress, but everyone else deserves that, too--plus it'd be neat to see how his traditional background (with his grandfather being a ninja) affecting his relationship with Marucho, who comes from a rich and modern family, as well as his friendship with Dan, who is also more modern.
Too many side characters who don't return for season 2 onwards. I always hated that we had fun characters like Chan Lee, Billy, and Klaus who are just written off later. It would've been fun to see them become bigger characters as the show went on rather than smaller ones.
Marucho and Shun keep getting new Bakugan. I'd have enjoyed it if the original 6 Bakugan returned to the team and they got Bakugan as well--namely because Ingram and Elfin were the only good "replacement" Bakugan for Marucho and Shun. The girls can just have their OG bakugan like Dan, or they could have two (their OG and a new one) like Shun and Marucho--though I guess technically Marucho would have 3 because of Angelo/Diablo.
Why is it that only some Bakugan can talk while the rest only let out animalistic? I kinda wish they all could talk, as well as not having duplicate bakugan with different elements.
The Vexos needed more backstories and didn't have to die. For a kids' show, this felt like a needlessly grim fate for them--and an annoying one if you grew up with the English dub, since they're just lost in another dimension rather than dead. It's Yu-Gi-Oh all over again--except the original and 5Ds had every right to be that dark. They could've just been imprisoned and we could've learned about more of them outside of Spectra and Gus. I really loved Lync and Alice, as well as Shadow and Mylene's chemistry, as well as the parallels between Volt and Baron.
Ingram's gender. This is more of a dub issue. To my understanding, Ingram is male, though in the dub, he was referred to as female for the first half of the anime with a female voice actor, and then male in the later half with a male voice actor. I'd be fine if he was NB or genderfluid, though if I had to pick between male and female, I'd prefer if he was male, given that Shun already had Skyress as a mother-figure, and Ingram could represent Shun's insecurities.
No one's gonna explain that moment between Drago and Percival in episode 26 of "New Vestroia"? That's the most surprising rivalry-turned-(almost) romance I've ever seen.
"Gundalion Invaders" was basically "New Vestroia" but with less interesting characters.
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Good morning my beloved ✨🤍 I wonder how is the creative process for your kinktober fics? Is there a movie or song that inspired you to create them or where did you get the idea? How are you working on it? Is there any fic you're more excited to finish than any other?
Take all the time you need and I just want to remind you that this is your hobby and these fics will be ready when they are ready. Don't pressure yourself with a deadline because you're already doing a great job, ok? I love you and I'm hugging you (plz don't forget to drink some water)
Aww hey hey hey babe 💗💗
This is such a sweet ask!! I love talking about my stories and the process of writing them!! Thank you so much!!
"Brother" (Yuuji x Reader + Sukuna x Reader) was a spontaneous idea. Usually, I love to write a softer version of Sukuna, but I thought that Halloween would be the perfect opportunity to finally write a truly evil version of him. I can't say too much about the story, though, because I don't want to spoil it. I am excited to see what people will think at the end. There are several ways to interpret it.
The song that I picked for this fic is "Pink Party" by Isaac Dunbar. I have it on my Itadori Twins playlist for another AU, and I love the vibe of it. This story starts at a party, and in my mind, this is the song that is playing in the background while Reader is trapped in the bathroom with Sukuna. The evil twin gets explicitly mentioned in this song, so it is really perfect ;)
"Mine" (Megumi x Reader) has been in my drafts for a long time. It was originally planned for a You collab (the tv show). But I never finished it. So when I saw my friend Loni make a Halloween collab, I remembered this story, and I thought it would fit very well. And it's a good motivation for me to actually finish this story finally.
I love taking a character like Megumi, who I think is a pretty good person in canon, and then taking one of their character traits or one of their super relatable insecurities and twisting them into something dark. With Megumi, those are his abandonment issues after his dad left him as a little child and after suffering the loss of several people he loved. I love the horror of seeing someone who started with good intentions lose control and become the villain.
I picked the song "King of Shadow" by Kat Cunning for this story. It is one of my Megumi songs anyway, and I think it fits this story very well. To me, it is a song about becoming obsessed with the person you love and refusing to let them go again, wanting to be as close to them as possible, wanting to know them better than anyone else could, wanting to be the only person who can give them a good life. Megumi sees Reader as his light while he is in the dark. She is like a goddess to him, like his perfect person, and he CANNOT lose her.
"Death's Bride" (Sukuna x Reader) was an idea I had when someone close to me was very sick, and I kind of needed a story about Death that was comforting to me. I once read an explanation about Sukuna's hand signs and that they are associated with the tale about the King of Hell, who judges the dead souls and decides which part of the afterworld they have to go to. I really love this idea and so I decided to write Sukuna as the personification of Death.
The song I picked for this story is "Don't Fear the Reaper" by HIM. I love their songs and the ongoing theme of death + romance in them, so this fits super well for falling in love with Sukuna as Death ;)
I can't really pick a fave because all three stories are very different, and I enjoy writing each one of them a lot. The Itadori Twins story is the darkest, in my opinion. The Megumi story is dark too, but in a different way. And the Sukuna story is actually pretty sweet, in my opinion.
I am super excited to share these stories with y'all!! And this ask was so sweet!! Thank you so much for your interest and for giving me an excuse to talk about my fics!! I am hugging you!! I love youuu 💗💗
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tuesday again 1/10/2023
the more injuries and minor surgeries i pick up throughout my life i get more convinced i do actually play first person shooters as a power fantasy but not in the normal way. recovering ok, this was prescheduled and premeditated, just extremely tired
listening
are you havin any fun? this tony bennet version is good enough. the SINGULAR line "and nervous indigestion" has been stuck in my head since thursday.
youtube
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reading
another pitch for Molly White's Web3 Is Going Just Great, bc HOO boy did a lot of shit happen last weekend. every crypto gaming project that folds feels like a personal gift to me. i did feel slightly insane last year bc the hype was so intense, everyone at my old job was fully bought in, and i got cited on two "performance reviews" for not being "excited enough" about crypto. anyway i hope my boss' two teslas explode.
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watching
watched a ton of shit this week, including the entire run of the vampiric interview tv show, which i WILL have more coherent thoughts about later. what a horrible, messy, incredibly satisfying bit of television.
guillermo del toro's pinocchio made me fucking bawl my eyes out and i'm a little resentful of that. stupidly, stupidly beautiful film.
i'm here to talk about s/tar wars the bad b/atch, or at least the second season's first two episodes.
the whitewashing and general racism around the clones has been a problem since attack of the clones but has really only gotten worse with time and is especially bad in this outing of the franchise. i'm not super qualified to talk about this, but i think @unwhitewashthebadbatch is a good starting point.
my biggest storytelling beef is that it feels very much like a DnD campaign that is trying to be a blades in the dark campaign. the format and tone aren't quite right. this show neither focuses on the immediacies of survival right after the republic's collapse, nor where the Bad Batch are trying to fit themselves into a new world, and it really suffers for it. there's almost nothing about parenthood (bc Omega is still tagging along on missions, and she is still twelve). i still don't really know the story this show is trying to tell, but am forced to conclude that a weekly show for children about guys who can do some sick flips is not the correct medium since i still don't fucking know what story this show is trying to tell.
there are eight products on shopDisney for this show and two of them are on clearance. i do not anticipate this series will be renewed past s3. apparently according to some advance reviewers this picks the fuck up after the midpoint of the season but i'm not holding my breath.
production wise, the backgrounds and lighting have gotten way better, they've really leaned into a luminous sort of matte painting that doesn't always pretend to have depth. i like how the rocky set in the second episode feels very much like a live-action limited-budget set. looks very much like a soundstage but animated, and i think that's oddly charming. i do like the location we visited in e2, wish we got to see more of it or talk really at all about the significance of the location. like. we have a literal castle chase and we don't talk about the castle At All. come ON.
one of the few canon trans characters in star wars deserves a better show with more coherent storytelling. love star wars! wish it was good.
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playing
largely fallow week. shouts out to the app Flick Solitaire bc i played through a hundred and fifty levels in the past few days
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making
some knitting problems i have to mull over before i post, bc i created an entire kerchief thing in a percocet haze but am unhappy with the finish. we shall see! might frog it but i'll post about it before i do
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Don't look, Marion! It's the Buddy for April 12th! It's a gif! It's beautiful...
Today's Buddy was based on that famous scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the bane of VCR rewind buttons everywhere, where the bad guy's face melts off.
That must've been a fun special effect to pull off. And I know I say a lot of movies are the best movie of all times, but, seriously, Raiders is the best movie of all times, right?
Spielberg and Lucas wanted to make a James Bond movie, but they were chased off into the sunset, so they decided to make their own version - a much cooler adventurer, not tied to those british spy novels and silly penguin suits.
A lot of people say a movie like the Indiana Jones series couldn't be made today. I mean, not another Indiana Jones movie, there's probably another sequel on the way. But giving a guy the equivalent of 1981's 20 million bucks to make an original movie, not based on IP, just an idea the dude had.
I don't know about that - after all, Rebel Moon just came out, and that movie shares a similar background to Raiders - famous director wanting to make a movie that's part of a famous franchise, gets rejected, makes his own edgier and pulpier version.
Sure, it sucked, but, still, it got done.
I don't really agree with a lot of the public discourse about modern movies. Probably because I'm very optimistic about popular movies. People complain about franchises and IP, but, I don't think it's a bad thing. Or at least, not necessarily a bad thing.
A good example is the best movie of all times, Eternals. It's a Marvel movie, yeah. But it's about obscure characters, and it allowed a auteur director to make an actual big-budget movie for a chance, something she'd never have a chance to do without Marvel's help. And it's an interesting story - the original comics were an interesting story too, despite their clumsy flaws.
Yet, everybody hated it. Especially people who never heard about those nobodies before - they were the ones complaining about the lack of new ideas in Hollywood. So that was the beginning of the end for Marvel.
I still think a lot of the criticism wasn't about the movie itself, but about Zhao choosing to "sell out" and make a sci fi movie, and a Marvel one at that.
Thankfully, it'll never happen again.
But, I don't know if we'll get a movie as good as Raiders again. It's a different world. And, I don't know, in a way, we don't need it. Kids can just watch Raiders instead of some director having to reinvent the wheel for a new generation. I don't get why every era needs to have its Star Wars, anyway. I mean, I do get it, it's because there's money in making new movies, even if they're just rehashes.
I read something online about the dangers of nostalgia, of people being obsessed with their youth. It ends up making their bitter towards the present day, it turns toxic. And it's easy to exploit - just keep shoveling out remakes, reboots, adaptations of the crap they loved when they were kids, and they'll keep buying. Suckers.
There are people like that (and a lot of them), yeah, but there are different issues to consider, too. One idea that a lot of people agree with is, a person's never too old to enjoy kids' stuff. We keep getting angry about adults enjoying cartoons, but, what's the harm, really? And yet, that can turn toxic too - a lot of douchebag complaining about "wokeness" in cartoons is the dark reflection of a refusal to grow up. As is the creepy obsession with sexualizing kids' cartoons.
Sometimes, it's better to accept that you're too old to enjoy something that wasn't made for you. It's better than to force it into that slot. Let the kids have their thing.
Despite all that, though, I still like some kiddy stuff, although I appreciate it in different levels. And I did like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Old Indiana Jones was fun, it felt almost like a movie version of Mr. Mustachio from Osamu Tezuka stories.
#ab4es#drawing#gif#animated gif#indiana jokes#raiders of the lost ark#Steven Spielberg#George Lucas#James Mangold#Zack Snyder#Eternals#Marvel#Chloe Zhao#nostalgia#cartoons#toxic nostalgia#animation#Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny#Osamu Tezuka#Shunsaku Ban#Mister Mustachio#Mustachio#higeoyagi#Rebel Moon
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Build me your perfect casting for a new movie about our sassy little twink Scarecrow (we really need one) Any characters, any actors.
Let's start with our sweet boy Jonathan:
I don't think I can (and I certainly don't want to) accept anyone other than Mr. Murphy for this role. If he was great in The Dark Knight trilogy, he'd probably be even better now: more age appropriate, less boyish, but just as attractive AND creepy, because for me those are the two main traits any live action adaptation of Scarecrow needs. This time I'd probably make his hair dark auburn at least.
I also need more movies where he wears glasses
Now, given that this is practically impossible, there are a couple of more realistic options I wouldn't be so mad about:
Bill Skarsgård
This is a very self-indulgent pick. I find him attractive, he looks good with glasses, and he knows how to be scary. Is he the best actor for the role? I don't know. Is he hot enough for me to overlook that and enjoy a very slutty and sexy Scarecrow again? Yes.
Caleb Landry Jones
He would be my first choice if I actually answered with my brain. He can look very creepy and messed up (as he did in Antiviral), but he still has that cute boy aura about him. Extra points for being a redhead because I'm a Year One bitch.
Michael Pitt
What can I say? I like him in villainesque roles and he makes a great psychopath. I wasn't particularly fond of the way he portrayed Mason in Hannibal, but if he went the Funny Games route, we could have a very good Scarecrow.
Young Christopher Walken
I can almost hear "call the police" here. If I had a time machine he'd be higher up in the list.
For our angsty playboy Bruce:
Robert Pattinson
I'm not sure if this is a popular or unpopular opinion at this point, but he might be my favorite Bruce. I like the emo take and I genuinely enjoy his acting. I couldn't understand the backlash when he was announced as the next Batman, but I was introduced to his work by Cronenberg's Cosmopolis (I was never a Twilight girl, no hate to those who like the franchise), and I've also seen how capable he is in other indie movies, so I knew he would deliver.
I also adored Christian Bale's Bruce, and I'm a bigger fan of TDK than The Batman, but Battinson has a special place in my heart.
Now let's think about the movie. I never spent too much time pondering on what my ideal Scarecrow movie would look like because we all know people just want yet another Joker movie and the chances of this happening are close to zero, but there are two things I would like to see:
His background story. We all know that, no matter the universe, he always gets tormented beyond what any human could -or should be able to- stand. I feed on trauma and seeing my favorite characters mentally and physically destroyed, so this is a must. If you ask me, I favor the great-granny option because it's crueler and makes for a more interesting character.
The parallelisms between him and Batman. This may be one of the most interesting points raised by Year One. I want them to be portrayed almost as mirror images. Their actions are fueled by childhood trauma, their motivations are driven by fear, but they end up fulfilling radically opposite yet complementary roles... I want this to explore the nature vs. nurture debate on what makes someone's psyche develop in a specific way, and I want it to be dark and twisted. Give me an even darker Bruce.
As for what other characters I'd like to see here, without a plot in mind, I can't really go deeper, but some options would be:
Great granny Keeny: because in my mind she's the main catalyst of his villain downward spiral. I want her to be somewhat attractive and comic book accurate (let's face it, she's FINE), but I have no one in mind. I picture her as an older version of either Bedelia Du Maurier from Hannibal or Ethel Cripps from The Sandman... Maybe an artificially aged Gillian Anderson would do the trick.
Linda Friitawa (Fright): a very underrated and ignored character that I'd like to see a live action adaptation of. Again, I never fully developed a plot in my mind, so I don't know if there would be a possibility to fit her anywhere and I also wouldn't want to take away from the homoerotic undertones of Scarecrow and Batman's love/hate relationship, because that's essential for me and my very self-indulgent, half-baked idea of a Scarecrow movie. Anya Taylor-Joy would be perfect here.
...and that's it for now. Although I'll probably regret not mentioning Nygma (not Nashton) and a few others as soon as I hit "post"!
♡ Thanks for your ask @ninja-potato-shelby-solomons ♡
#this is a very self-indulgent fancast and I'm well aware of it#my fantasies are better than any realistic choice#I am quite obsessed with year one scarecrow#dc scarecrow#scarecrow fancast#jonathan crane#batman#batman villains#gotham rogues#linda friitawa#fright DC#dr crane#cillian murphy#caleb landry jones#bill skarsgård#christopher walken#robert pattinson#michael pitt#anya taylor joy#batman begins#the dark knight#peaky blinders#gillian anderson#year one scarecrow#bruce wayne#nolanverse#matt reeves#the batman
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