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life-rewritten · 3 years

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1000 Stars Ep 1-6; Tian and the Consequences of past mistakes.

This has been long coming. I’ve just been very weirdly conflicted with writing about this show because I tend to find speaking about it for hours more appropriate. But because I didn’t have time to create a video focused on this topic, I decided to write it out the way I know how. First of all this has been just an insane experience, this show is... well how can I describe it? It’s incredible, and not like the oh this is really good incredible, I mean like it’s mind blowing how outstanding this show is, the fact that this show is the first Thai bl show of 2021 that was original is blowing my freaking mind, it’s put a standard to everything else, it’s standard is excellence, there is no mistake, no errors, no issues with this show unless you’re someone who loves to find something wrong about something. This show is so inspirational, representative, deep, and important in this genre. First of all it’s a unique type of storyline, it has meta everywhere, it’s incredibly filled with dimensional characters that are so human and real and make mistakes but learn and grow, and it has an incredible realistic love story brewing. Like what else can you say about this show? The cinematography? Excellent. The directing. Even more great. The acting; So incredible. Everyone who has joined to make this show mean something, mean something to me. Because this show is now my hiding place, an escape from the realities of the world, and the grim aspects of life, a show that makes me learn about the value of life, the importance of love, and just the inspiration of finding meaning to who you are and why you should be here. This show is so incredibly written and planned with so much effort, direction and energy. If GMMTV can keep on with this energy with all their other BLS this year is going to the biggest, greatest breakthrough for this genre. This show makes my Fridays. And I wanted to first start with that because it’s hard to write thoughts about this show, because there’s so much to flesh out and explain, every scene, every dialogue, every thing means something to the overall story brewing, to the subtext hidden, to the themes and messages the show is trying to teach. Everything can be explained. And I think that’s so incredible.

So what do we have in this essay then, we have a focus on Tian, and his actions from Ep 1-6, it’s incredible how our little sunshine is finally going through self discovery and finding who he’s meant to be, also it’s just amazing to see him find his soulmate through all of this; who just means so much to him and influences all of his greatest things in life. However this show toes between the line of a really sweet love story, with some humour, some laughter, some cheesiness and flirts but also a darker, sadder and realistic portrayal of some issues in the world, and also some parts of the human psyche that represents or relates to us in some way. Whether this show is about how easily depression can make us fall into this well of self hate, and self destruction, or make us forget the value of the people around us and the value of even our selves, or this show is a message and warning to consequences of recklessness, corruption and selfishness, this show has so much to say and show whilst still presenting it in a format that’s a BL; that’s still hopeful and beautiful and sweet. And how Backaof has gone and done this is incredible to me. This essay is going to be breaking down each of the hints and clues that point to the serious aspects of the show, what are we to expect? Why is this a repeated theme in the show, what does it mean for our characters, what does it mean for us? So Let’s break down the foreshadowings and clues to the plot twists in the show that’s upcoming and how Backaof has laid a very meta plan for each of these clues to take place.

Tian and The Consequences of The Past

Mostly episode 5 really is the episode where these clues are hidden in subtext. So much is troubling immediately we begin the episode. We start of with a realisation that we’re being bamboozled, the show is hiding information from us, it’s twisting our perspectives on certain storylines and there’s still truths that we need to unveil to piece together. The most important connection of this story is the demise and removal of Torfun. In fact her accident is the catalyst that causes this story to begin, she’s a guide to Tian to lead him to this new renewal of life, and purpose but also she’s the family and friend to many people who have been touched by her presence, she’s also the person connected to our love interest. In so many ways her demise means a lot to the plot of the story. And it’s shocking to think that there could be more to it. It’s not just this plot that is a convenience to the story, it means more, it’s connected to every single thread of the plot, connected to the love story brewing, because it’s her heart that’s being confused at first with Tian’s feelings, it’s her presence that’s being emphasised on with Tian’s guilt of replacing her, it’s her words that’s being valued by Tian to want to be better and do more for himself, but it’s her mystery that keeps us all on edge including Tian who is slowly unveiling memories that he doesn’t want to accept. It seems like deep down Tian knows something is of about Torfun’s accident, it’s like he can’t rest, he can’t help shake when he questions his flashbacks, his memories, there’s this desperate need for him to attempt to make it up to her, to ensure she’s happy and rested with her wishes coming through, it’s such a desperate need it drives him to self sacrificial methods, he completely leaves his own needs and care for her goal to be realised.

And it is sweet but Tian is also someone who is incredibly hurt, and destructive, he’s been so pushed into this mindset of thinking he’s not worth it, his life is not worth it, his presence is not worth it. For so long he has been shackled by the idea of deth (wrong spelling on purpose) following him all around, one day he was meant to leave the world, unexpectedly, no hopes, no dreams, no freedom from this and so he became numb to this premise of life, of value, of self care. Tian is incredibly reckless and self destructive because he lost the meaning of why he should be self protective and self loving. And it breaks my heart everytime we have to relive or even remember his state of mind in the past episodes from 1-4. Now this begins to change once he settles and realises he has meaning, and he’s needed and he’s worthy. It starts to change when he realises he wants to be protected by the man he loves, it starts to change when he’s found something to protect, his new family, friends and lover. It starts to change when he also wants to make a difference and be of importance. So Tian is finally going through this self discovery of Purpose, Love and Happiness, which are all connected to this meaning of life, that he wanted to uncover when he read Torfun’s diary at first. But as much as he is on this path, he still has remnants of his mistakes and his past mindsets that prevent him from moving forward, it eats him up with guilt, it paralyses him with fear that one day he could lose it all, but also it makes him run into the claws of danger and deth time and time again. So Episode 5 really is a map of all the dangers that Tian has to get through, connected to his own faults, flaws and development needed to be unpacked to get to his destiny/fate with Pupha. These worries and foreshadowings show a grueling yet important journey to overcome, he needs to overcome his self doubt, his self hate, his numbness to life and his guilt and shame of the past. So Let’s analyse and break down these clues.

Consequences of Recklessness

Episode 5 starts with immediately a shift, it’s a plot twist to see that Tian didn’t faint. It’s odd for me to be watching this scene in the beginning and screaming Faint please faint, why isn’t he fainting. Immediately he stands up assures Tul he’ll be okay and then proceeds to discuss about his car as his baby and pride, you know it’s a problem. The emphasis of Tul feeling uneasy brings up this worry that Tian is about to attract trouble through his lack of care for himself, and his lack of value for others and things connected to him. This is the moment we’re hit with the wave of realisation that Tian may have to deal with the consequences of his recklessness, and that means that this event is connected to the source of everything the one thing we still have questions about; Torfun and her accident. And it’s a terrifying lesson don’t get me wrong, but it’s like Tian to be reckless, he’s reckless about everything, his life, his heart, his self, he’s just constantly putting himself at risk.

Immediately he opens his mouth and pushes for an illegal car race, we know there’s going to be consequences, this is connected to how powerful he is, (they can close the road and cover up the truth), this is connected to how corrupted his background is as we’ve seen in episode 1, how little they value others for themselves, it’s connected to the ease and way he can be privileged and thrive of chaos and get unscathed whilst people like Torfun end up victims used and forgotten. Now I’m not saying Tian is the actual person who took Torfun’s life, although he does end up in possession of her heart, he doesn’t drive and I do believe he wasn’t the one in the car, maybe in the passenger seat next to the driver, or maybe hitting another car from behind that ran into her, or Tul managing to get him out of that situation before he could be the one who caused it. But it’s still his words, his actions that lead to this accident, and that’s a terrifying fact both he and the audience has to deal with. And this is connected of the value of life and people and how this can be lost with recklessness, and corruption and selfishness.

Consequences of Evasion of the Truth

Tian literally had to evade and run away from this world to go to the village to find the real meaning but it doesn’t erase his past, he has to deal with that, and I do think he will think he’s the one who is the person at fault mostly because he’s starting to get flashbacks of that event, he knows he’s hiding a secret and It’s more than just the fact that Torfun gave him his heart, it’s because deep down he’s scared he was involved in that in a different way. And this leads to Pupha and his secrets, the way he was actively trying to conceal the truth in episode 5, because of his fear of losing it all, and hurting the person he loves. The fact he’s hiding secrets means that those secrets will come to light and we do see an example of this a bit less painful when Longtae stumbles on Torfun’s diary, this is still going to be happening because Pupha still needs to know the truth and the way Tian has covered up the secrets and truth for so long means there’s consequences to hiding the truth.

This is also another theme of the show, connected to the fact that Torfun’s accident is being covered up as just that, connected to the fact that maybe Tian’s father and mother tried so hard to evade the truth and move on and pretend nothing happened, by selling the car and forcing Tian to not think about looking for her. That’s why it’s worrying because the parents are obstacles and in my opinion are also one of the hints episode 5 leaves for us the audience to notice. Already it’s uncommon to hear that Tian’s mum isn’t as worried about him in the village, when her love for him in episode 1 is suffocating and protective, she won’t be okay with his choice to be reckless, to push his heart, to come to a place with distance, and so it’s a red flag.

Consequences of Corruption and Power

It’s a warning, his parents are connected to a plot twist, they’re going to be an obstacle because they represent right now Corruption and Power. And the consequences of corruption and power removing the value of life is also shown in episode 6 when we see our villain Sakda. In fact it’s because Tian tries to evade Corruption that we see the value of all the villagers earnings, work, life, burn so cruelly at the end. Sakda’s cruelty has no bounds, he doesn’t take the people seriously; he sees them as liabilities, obstacles, unimportant, he doesn’t value them just like Torfun was also unvalued by her aunt because of money/recklessness and also probably by Tian’s family because of corruption and power. It’s all about the darkness of privilege; the very lesson Tian is learning about and also growing away from. Episode 1 shows the stain of corruption in Tian’s life, how it suffocates him and makes him feel unsafe and unhappy in his own home, how it shrouds him in the dark compared to Torfun who found light in Pu Phan Dao. And that wine stain on his chest that carves the same length and shape as his scar is a reminder that he’s been stained and affected by that Corruption. And that’s why he tries to escape and start anew. But there are consequences and lessons of forgiveness he needs to learn, a way to relearn about his own meaning and value but also a way forgive himself and Torfun to find peace with the truth unfolded. Okay so a bit dark but this is a theme, the way corruption and the rich and power don’t care about the value of life, even in Pu Phan dao, Phupha is tagged with protecting the home, the trees, the forest because they have value, but the rich come and poach and cut down the source for the people, they misuse and scam the people because they don’t know or treat what they do as valuable. That’s why Tian as he learns about value finds a way to help the villagers regain the value of their tea leaves and more, he adds innovation and a creativity to everything to make the villagers be strong enough to know their worth and yet the rich and the corrupt manage to burn it all down in episode 6. The theme is recurring; the question is how do we come out of it with forgiveness, peace and understanding.

Consequences of Carelessness

I can talk about this theme and the value of life linked to this show for ever. But there’s more shown in episode 6 that hints at the worrying obstacles we still have to face. There’s Social media mentioned, Tian repeatedly warns Tul to not take a photo of him, he lies to Nam about his facebook and he finds Torfun through facebook in episode 1. He’s so desperate to hide his past and his truth that maybe that’s how some of the truth will be unveiled. Social media can be easily tracked if a person has it out for him, but also Tul takes a picture with him that holds such a warning to it, it just seems important to notice as well. Because it could be Sakda who unveils it but he’s also connected to so much more.

His power also puts Phupha at risk, because Phupha is the one tasked with preventing these type of influences hurting the village. Phupha’s job requires his life to be at risk for the value of others, the people he deems family, and the place he deems home so his job is going to also lead to him being at odds with Sakda and his minions. Especially since we have seen how violent they can get, and in episode 1 we are shown a bunch of people who are currently a danger to the forest with one escaping and boss connected to them. That’s Sakda. So if Phupha has to stop Sakda his life may be in danger as he risks it for the village but also mostly Tian who is the target of them now.

Again that’s the consequences of Tian’s recklessness because even though it was good for him to defend the village and do what’s right, he was warned repeatedly what it could bring. And it brings Phupha’s life in danger. Especially the foreshadowing with him running in episode 6 to bring out a symbol of Phupha’s presence in his life. His actions have unfortunately led to the endangerment of the one person he wants to protect more than himself. The one person who truly shows him the value of life. That’s why episode 5 jokinly repeats also warningly that Tian is a trouble magnet, it’s a joke because it seems him being reckless and attracted to trouble is not important because with his status and privilege he can come out unscathed, however it can lead to catalysts of drama and more pain in the future. Hence again the consequence of recklessness. Tian acts before he thinks, it’s a good and bad quality, first it leads to him being brave, being determined, being creative with how he tackles solutions, it comes to him immediately at the same time packed with his self destructive mindset, at times it leads to him causing trouble and harm. This is why I say another theme to his self acceptance journey is forgiveness this is not just him learning about the best things in life, it’s also about him embracing the mistakes of his past. Because it’s only if he learns, will he become his best self, the one that loves everything about himself, and the one that can move forward and heal past scars. Also because I’m sure people are like what about Torfun our victim essentially, I think Torfun is definitely making Tian also feel this uneasiness and determination to unfold the truth for peace, she gives him permission in the episode 1 for him to take over her heart, to take care of Pupha but probably also to take care of the village. I think she’s at peace but you know we’ll see if the show mentions her again in a different manner.

Consequences of Insecurity

But this brings us to the next obstacle mentioned in Episode 5: Torfun vs Tian. Head vs Heart. Especially also connected to Phupha. From episode 3-6, Pupha and Tian have given their hearts to each other, in subtext it’s really obvious they both know how they feel however it’s always distracted by insecurities, logic, and questions in their minds. There’s a lot in their heads they have to deal with that makes it hard for them to confess. Although Tian is basically still willing to fight over those thoughts and choose him and show him he’s open. This is why I don’t think Tian fully thinks it’s him behind Torfun’s incident, mostly because if he truly thought he was behind the car he won’t let Phupha near him. He won’t forgive himself to even let love in. So I think he has inklings something is not right but he pushes down and isn’t fully aware of what happened that night. But apart from those worries, there’s more things he and Pupha deal with that is hinted in episode 5 and we see is preventing both of them just coming out and saying what they feel.

The things in Pupha’s head vs heart

The first worry which he kind of removes in episode 6 is distance. Phupha says it in episode 5, he doesn’t want to be the reason for why Tian stays in the village and not return back for his degree in college. He doesn’t want to hold Tian back though he’s worried that him returning means he won’t come back to the village. Infact Tian returning home has been Pupha’s biggest fear since he first met him, it’s why he teased him harshly each time he saw him pre ep 3, because he didn’t want him to leave so he always angered him and tested to see how determined he wanted to stay. Because of this looming distance/long distance relationship that could occur in the future, Pupha shies away with his other insecurities and prevents himself from confessing rather keeping their relationship in this unknown stage than facing the reality of what they are. He doesn’t want to get in the way of Tian’s potential, it’s obvious Tian is finding Purpose in the village as a teacher and helper but for Pupha where people of the village dream of going to the city to get their dreams, and live a better comfortable life it’s better for Tian who’s frail, and smart to go back and unveil his potential by staying in college for however long he has to.

But also Pupha notices Tian is secretive. This is why although it seems Tian is open to him and obviously flirting and hinting at a way to elevate their status, Pupha shies away because he has insecurities, one he still doesn’t trust how Tian sees him, there’s this idea of him being different to Tian because of age, personality, and maybe even sexuality, and he worries about all of that, what if Tian is more matched with others his age, and finds more happiness and comfort with people who speak like him and act like him, what if Tian hates strict and moody people, what if Tian isn’t queer? These are the insecurities he battles with in his head even though his heart thinks Tian may reciprocate.

The things in Tian’s head vs heart

And we know the big one for Tian is Torfun. She’s Pupha’s prized, valuable connection, someone who really meant the world to him, someone he and the village is struggling to let go of. Tian feels like an impostor holding her heart, it fills him with guilt, shame, worry about him not being worthy enough to replace her, but also to help them deal with her demise. And For Pupha especially who doesn’t have a lot of family members; who cherishes every single thing as like the most important valuable thing, he doesn’t want him to be hurt with that realisation. He doesn’t want him to compare Tian with Torfun, he doesn’t want to always see the hurt in his eyes when he looks at Tian and misses her.

It’s also the fact he’s been lying for so long, and so that worries him even more as days go by, because he lied (as his subconscious of Pupha told him in the dream In episode 4) it makes it worse, he should have just told them immediately to take away the betrayal and the hurt. So this is all also in his head. Before he accepted his sexuality he also questioned if it was her who loved Pupha not him. Because sometimes people say things to him that makes him feel again like she’s there controlling him, or changing him to become like her etc. It’s hard for him to not think there might be a chance he likes Pupha because it’s her not him. However the most important one is the guilt of holding her heart, of basically stealing her life, he basically took the guy she loves, the job she loves, the place she loves and replaced her. So he’s not really particularly comfortable with that truth; in fact this is the reason why he’s desperate to make her wish her come through to give her some sort of validation and make her still have meaning. To also ask for her forgiveness for being the one who took her heart. That’s why I think if he’s any way close to her demise as in the accident the guilt and determination to run to the cliff and just beg her for forgiveness is even more desperate and intense. That’s what I’m dreading. Because the journey to the cliff isn’t an easy one, and if Tian desperate and reckless runs away to go make it happen what happens to his already overworked heart?

Consequences of Deth

And that’s the last thing we really have to overcome in the show, the closeness and link to deth both our characters have, like it’s insane, Phupha’s life is constantly in danger, and episode 5 reminds us of the violence of people like Sakda he has to face. Meanwhile Tian is just close to it because of a chance of his rejection, luckily episode 6 reintroduces his medicine and now Nam knows the truth, his heart may finally be taken care of well, but there’s still a chance that he’s pushed it too far, there’s still a connection to his numbness of life, and his self destructive way he sees himself when he’s filled with guilt and pain. So there’s still this tangle with this, which is worrying as we saw in episode 5, his heart is pushed so many times over the limit and in episode 6 even more when he runs into the fire forgoing his own safety yet again. So that is important to note. However I think this is just probably going to be more of a warning for Pupha though Tian’s life is also endangered by Sakda since he’s a target so it’s both, they’re both again in danger of sacrificing themselves to help the other. This doesn’t mean a sad ending I don’t even worry about that, but it’s an obstacle, it’s a consequence of the themes of the show, and another lesson for Tian to learn and grow from.

The themes of Identity, Self love, Purpose and Renewal of the meaning of life all are lessons that Mr Tian needs to learn as he discovers himself through the show. However Tian’s past doesn’t just disappear as we see mechanisms and mindsets constructed from his past environment, situations and hurts can show up as consequences, but this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world for our couple, in fact it’s opposite, it’s a healing message of embracing your past and healing your scars, and becoming a better person knowing you’re still worth everything good despite your mistakes if you’re willing to grow and change. Knowing actions have consequences but you have a chance to learn from them and grow. It’s a self acceptance and self-forgiving journey, to embracing your fate and finding the meaning of life again. So yes in this show there’s a reason for why the characters act the way they do, there’s a reason why Tian constantly puts himself in harms way, a reason for why Pupha is the opposite and is strict and filled with order to prevent recklessness, to protect the value of people, life and more. Both Tian and Pupha come into each other’s lives to offer perspective, to help each other grow, with making Pupha embrace vulnerability and weakness of himself, and to make Tian embrace meaning of life and purpose and love; all the things he thought he had lost. So yeh Episode 5 was a rollercoaster, I kept on smiling but then worrying each time below the surface another clue popped up showing we still have a lot of obstacles to deal with. But if we don’t have these obstacles then these real life messages and call outs won’t matter, we need to see the price of privilege, we need to see the consequence of recklessness, the selfishness of corruption and how it can bring harm to others, we need to know why it’s important to value your self, and know your truth, and fall in love, So we’ll be fine, this show is incredible already and it deals with everything well. No matter what theories we have Backaof has a full map for how everything ties together in his head, how Tian deals with his guilt, how he confronts his parents, how he chooses Pupha overall, we’ll see it all unfold. It’d be a journey, sometimes painful but we’ll come out smiling. Anyway here’s the analysis of the consequences and dangers in the show. Let’s discuss? What are your theories? How do you feel about the show? Let me know. Ciao.

#1000 stars #1000stars #atots #tale of a thousand stars #tale of thousand stars #thai bl #bl series #bl drama #cwg #fvete #earthmix #phuphatian

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fireemblems24 · 3 years

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Chapter 16 Battle

Below is my random thoughts playing Ch 16. I may or may not have gotten embarrassingly emotional playing a certain route.

I'm playing all 4 routes as my "first route," so please no spoilers beyond this point.

Crimson Flower

As much as I'm absolutely dreading killing Rodrigue and Ingrid, I'm going to relish taking Cornelia out.

My very first move this battle - Felix kills his father. RIP Rodrigue. (Felix used the Crest of Fraldarius first, then crit him. Damn, I hope he's nicer to Ingrid).

Rodrigue and Felix's battle dialogue though :(

Oh, God, Ingrid's chosen to fight for Dimitri till she dies. I'm surprised how upset I am having to fight her. I mean, I always liked Ingrid, but I think I like her more than I even thought I did.

Linhardt just said "is any of this worth it?" Me too right now, buddy, me too.

Time for Felix vs Ingrid. She dodges his bow, then hits his ass with her batallion on EP. I'm proud of her.

God, you have no idea how happy I am that Ingrid called Felix out for betraying everyone - that she didn't forget Glenn. Because, I mean, Felix IS fighting for the team that killed his brother.

His rebuttal was so weak too. "You don't understand." No shit, Sherlock, that's why she asked.

Shit, Ingrid's dead :( that sucked.

God it felt good to kill Cornelia after that.

I really am not ready for Fhirdiad. Ingrid and Rodrigue were hard enough. I'm so not ready for Dedue and Dimitri.

But I think this is my last Crimson Flower level until I'm ready to play the last two back-to-back? I don't know about that. I may just want to get the next chapter over with.

OMG Felix was my MVP. His "motivation" is maxed out after killing daddy and Ingrid and preparing to off Dimitri. That's so cold blooded.

Silver Snow

Time to kill criminally underused dragon lady.

A rare sight - Lysithea having to hit something - twice.

Ok, so does my CF team suck? Or is there a steeper difficulty curve because it's shorter? CF Ch 16 wasn't hard, but everyone in SS is easily killing everything. Like this level is a legit joke to my SS team, but in CF I at least had to be cautious.

You know, I've talked about my SS!Ferdinand before, but my Lysithea and Sylvain are also both absolutely terrifying.

Oh no, Lorenz! He was one of my core SS units 😭(before he betrayed us).

Didn't people say he comes back if I kill him with Byleth or something? Not sure I need him anymore.

Should I? Just? Kill him? Because I can? Or be nice? I'm not even sure killing him with Byleth will work.

Anytime the enemy uses that firey wagon batallion and it misses it's so funny.

Oh, man, Lorenz was told fight for the Empire or die? He sounded so sad about fighting Byleth. I can't not try to spare him after that. Not sure if this is going to work.

OMG OMG IT WORKED! I don't have to kill him!!!! I can't, not after learning he thought he'd die if he didn't join the Empire.

This is the first chapter Ferdinand has actually been dancing. And the second I unleash him, double crits against an armored night. Man is bloodthirsty.

"Defeat boss" when the boss moves and is on a dragon sucks. Because every level is always and forever - route enemy.

Annnnd . . . . that's it. Killed everyone but Ladislava and only Bernie and Anna used their turns, so now it's just a matter how picking who gets the kill.

For the record, Linhardt got the final blow. I always feel bad making him kill, but he needed the experience points so . . .

Seteth just prayed for his enemies 😭

Verdant Wind

I already have Lorenz, so I don't have to "kill" him with Byleth this time.

Oh, wow, Ferdinand's on the map. Didn't see that at first.

Even if he wasn't an enemy commander, I'd kill him. Kill 'em all is just too much fun. I'm also less upset about killing him than I thought I'd be. I thought he'd be a much bigger deal than he actually is. He's a good boi and all, but I'm just not emotionally attached, and I thought I would be.

OMG, Claude. He's like - naw, just kill Acheron. He's a nuisance.

Acheron is really a meme though. He show up in some paralogue (I don't remember) and yeah I don't think we're supposed to take him seriously.

I find it mildly amusing that every noble who sides with Edelgard in the Alliance and the Kingdom either a.) have lands close to the Imperial border or are b.) the corrupt nasties.

Man, I even danced Lorenz so he could reach Acheron and no unique dialogue.

Lysithea is dumb. She one-shotted Ladislava.

Sometimes I think I forget just how hot Claude is.

RIP Ferdinand. At least his dialogue didn't make me feel guilty like Ashe or Ingrid did. His motivation was just inflating his own ego and his petty one-sided rivalry with Edelgard. He grows into a better person if he's recruited.

It's funny the last man standing was the Lorenz replacement lol.

Lorenz was my MVP, seems fitting.

Azure Moon

Alright, so a few people seemed hyped to see my chapter 16 reactions, and nothing worth hyping happened in the other routes (sans killing Rodrigue and Ingrid, but I've already made my feelings known about that). So it's got to be something in AM, but I kind of expected that.

Why does Rodrigue get dialogue, but I don't get to use him as a unit 😔

My AM gameplay every. single. time. Have Dimitri draw as much aggro as possible. End turn.

OMG.

😭😭😭😭😭😭

HE'S BACK.

OMG, Dimitri knows he's alive now. I can't.

OMG he got so hot. That hairstyle is much improvement. And those scars. And he's so tall. I forgot just how tall he is.

OMG he's going to be in the Monastery again. I'm spending every single fricken Professor Point tea timing him.

And all his supports. I finally get to see his A supports. 😭😭

He's got new quotes and everything 😭😭

Dimitri and Dedue fighting side-by-side again. 😭😭

It's been like since December when I last saw Dedue. 😭😭

And his first level up got like 6 points, including speed!

His "I will Break You!" quote is INTENSE.

Oh, right, Lorenz. I'll try to kill him with Byleth. Should be easy. My AM!Byleth is a pegasus knight so.

Lorenz's battle quote is so much more polite than Ferdinand's. I know I want to do a "kill em all" but I just can't after hearing Lorenz say that.

I am DYING to see what Dimitri and Dedue's dialogue is, but it's 12:13am, and I still haven't showered, and I gotta get up at 6am for work 😭😭

OMG lol looking at these. Everything else is so organized and AM's is just crying emojis and Dedue gushing.

#StanDedue 😭😭

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem 3 houses #fe3h #fe16 #😭😭#dedue molinaro #my boi is back #and he's okay #and hot

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sweetescapeartist · 3 years

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DBS COLORING BOOK CHAPTER 73 REVIEW

Alright... let's do this.

The first 4 pages are good. Good flow, not too many pages, no dialogue (thank God). Page 5 is where the paneling gets unnecessary. The last 2 panels aren't needed.

Page 6 is absolutely stupid. Goku & Granolah are flying at extremely high speeds, Goku is firing ki blasts that are moving at a higher velocity than he is currently moving, Granolah moves even faster in order to dodge Goku's ki blasts, then Granolah is using his scarf that is wrapped around a tree to swing around the tree & get behind Goku... A SCARF.

The scarf would tear apart instantly if Granolah tried to use it to catapult/swing himself around faster than Goku can perceive.

YOU: "The scarf is probably really strong tho!"

Sure let's assume that. In that case, the tree would be uprooted from the velocity Granolah is moving. Either way, it doesn't make sense. If this was early Dragon Ball and Yamcha did something like this when fighting Goku, then yeah it would be reasonable and look cool. With the power these characters are at now, it just looks ridiculous and inconvenient. It doesn't work here. Granolah could've easily dodged on his own and much faster that wraping his scarf around the tree.

So Granolah swings around and kicks Goku through tons of trees. (Saiyans killed his ppl but Granolah is killing his planet. Ironic)

Hey look! Another stupid page 😒

Page 7. Goku got sent flying back at a speed capable of easily cutting through tons of trees, but he slows himself down by grabbing a branch & swinging around it? Why? Again, at that speed, Goku would yank the limb of the tree clean off or uproot the entire tree. That wouldn't slow down his speed. He would be better off just stopping in the air on his own as if he applied the emergency breaks. Characters have done that plenty of times. Again, stuff like swinging around trees and tree branches is stuff they would had done in OG Dragon Ball.

Why is Goku blocking like that?? He isn't reinforcing his arm, he's holding his wrist whole his forearm gets punched. That would damage his arm and/or wrist.

*Boom boom! Bam bam!* They hit each other some. But are you ready for this? Pages 11-12...!

Why did Goku yell as if he is transforming? He is using Ultra Instinct, right? You don't yell to power that up. Remember the Moro arc? He calmly breathes to go into the state. Remember the chapter before? He calmly closes his eyes to focus. Why is he yelling then tapping into UI? Because Toyotaro can't write consistently. This page was...! just dumb...

Also... What is this SSB with Ultra Instinct then? You remember the SSB aura around UI Omen in the Moro arc? What's the difference between "Blue plus Ultra Instinct" & "Ultra Instinct plus Blue?"

Granolah says he can read Goku's blood flow and cell movements. That should come in handy later when he could potentially find a weakeness in Goku using UI. Hopefully Goku doesn't tell him he can't stay in the form too long. 🤞

SSB with UI is more focused that lower forms in combination with UI. Goku should be nearly untouchable. Pages 13 - 14 show how well Goku can dodge. Looks like ballet in a way, like Goku us dancing around him. I like that. Then he uses a point blank Kamehameha. Looks cool. But it turns out that Granolah simultaneously hit Goku somehow. Not a complaint here.

Pointless panels of Oil being blown back by the force. Pointless panels of Vegeta not paying attention to the fight and looking around. Pointless 2 panels of smoke clearing away. The entire page doesn't add anything at all. Page 17 could be omitted & it would flow better.

Goku is on the ground for the... 3rd time in this battle? I wish it would at least have Granolah say he didn't realize how difficult UI with SSB would be for him, but he barely saw an opening. That would be some sort of respect for Goku and did some clever foreshadowing. But we get Granolah insulting Goku instead. Whatever.

This "vital points" nonsense is so stupid. Everyone in DB has nearly identical vital points. Majin Vegeta knocked Trunks out by chopping at his vital point. These characters know what vital points are and know them well as we have seen when they were in combat since early DB. Granolah should be saying "My right eye will always find an opening." But maybe its a translation error or something. I won't be too harsh about this one.

Wait wait wait. Lemme get this straight...

Whis trained Goku, then Goku is able to use UI in the ToP.

Merus trains Goku to use UI Omen at will.

Goku later masters UI with silver hair.

Whis points out new flaws that didn't exist then trains Goku even further.

Goku has been trained by 2 Angels to the point of being able to go into Mastered UI at will and recieved further training after mastering the Angelic power. How is it that Goku has the gull to say "No, Ultra Instinct should have no weaknesses. If anything's lacking, it's gotta be my training."

And he's telling Granolah that he is vulnerable for some reason...? He's just foreshadowing for the reader that he will lose. The last 4 or 5 panels of page 19 isn't needed.

Whatever. Let's move on. So on page 20, for some reason, Goku has a confused look & a question mark in his speech bubble after Granolah blames Saiyans for killing his ppl. Maybe Goku doesn't understamd why Granolah is repeating himself for the 3rd or 4th time? Or he wasn't listening the earlier times. Can't blame him. Granolah's speeches bored me too.

Granolah copies Moro & makes lava rise from the core of his beloved home planet in order ro hurt Goku. Poor Sugarians. I wonder if there will be a "You're becoming the bad guy now, Granolah." type of story. Dont really care though. Goku escapes by teleporting. He mentions how Granolah has Moro's move. I guess Granolah is supposed to be like Cell and have others techniques... like Moro before him... They are both altered copies of Cell who is much cooler than both of them combined...

Well, here they are making Vegeta look capable (somehow?). Also its interesting that the bloodthirsty Granolah is allowing Goku & Vegeta to chat about their discovery of who his ppl are. The the ex-detective Vegeta quickly figures out that Maki & Oil fooled them. That was rushed. "But Vegeta was suspicious of them before." Yes, but there was no reason or anything we heard that would make Vegeta suspicious. The writing is bad. Also it's convenient that Oil has a drone all of the sudden to eavesdrop. The last 4 panels of page 24 are pointless.

GOKU: "Hey let's talk to him and clear things up."

VEGETA: "Nah. He's probably too stubborn. Just fight to move the story along instead."

Goku says he hasn't used his full power yet & Vegeta is surprised. How does Vegeta not realize Goku hasn't used his full power, Mastred UI? Then Vegeta says "Tch... Gotta resort to that in the end, huh?" Toyotaro is having Vegeta downplay UI in order to hype up Vegeta's fight next chapter. Bad writing. There's better ways to hype Vegeta up. Toyo chose one of the worst ways to do so.

Granolah... Just standing and waiting for Goku to come back. What a patient revenge fueled man.

UI Goku through the fog looked cool. (And his wounds heal? Ok...) But, seeing that made me realize something else. It would be much cooler if it went from page 22 then skip to page 26!

We don't need Goku & Vegeta chatting. The reveal of UI would not have had a pace breaker. It just happens & you see that Goku is serious now. Show don't tell.

GRANOLAH: "I can't perceive... any vital points?!"

That sounds stupid, so I do think it is a translation error.

GRANOLAH: "I can't perceive... any openings?!"

Now that reads much better! (I also edited the dialogue to "openings" in the pic above.)

Great... Goku conveniently exposed a weakness in UI that Whis had conveniently made up in CH 71. Although, in CH 59 Whis said that Mastered UI doesnt have the stamina issue that UI Omen has. Then in CH 64 it shows that the stamina issue is gone with Mastered UI during the 3 chapter battle with Moro. Goku never looked fatigued or weak in this form. Only time the form went away is when "planet" Moro drained Goku of his energy.

But now Goku & Whis say otherwise. How suddenly contradictory. Page 26 of this current chapter (CH 73) would be better if the last 2 panels were omitted.

Mastsred UI Goku easily takes down Moro- I mean Granolah. Also Goku tries to chat now after attacking Granolah. Should've said something before you start kicking ppl in the face. But this is shown to prove Vegeta is right about not being able to reason with Granolah. Even if it makes no sense.

Cool dodging & aikido type movement from Goku.

Goku using "the force" & stopping Granolah's movements was cool. Reminded me of Goku doing something similar to Broly in the DBS movie. Or more similarly, like Zamasu did in the manga.

I guess Toyotaro is suggesting that the quick flurry of punches is a Master UI kind of move. (Although it originated in the anime when UI Omen Goku was punching back against Jiren & when he did so to block attacks from Jiren in EP 129.) I hope this move isn't over used that it ends up losing its flare.

Vegeta pretends to be upset that Goku defeated Granolah while in the previous chapter, Vegeta told Goku to fight first.

Somehow Vegeta is able to sense that there are 2 Granolahs. You can say because he has spirit control, but Goku has been through that kind of training with Roshi, Kami, & King Kai (possibly some with the Yardrats too which helped him control Super Saiyan at the level he could). And with Instant Transmission, Goku must be an expert in detecting ki. He can feel ki in different realms and locate ppl from far across the galaxy Goku should sense this too. All this writing is doing is trying to make Vegeta appear as the more capable fighter & get Vegeta fans hype for his next battle. That's all.

The switcheroo (I think I used that wrong) of a fake Granolah was a kinda clever idea. But Goku not knowing what "split" means is asinine.

Goku literally says "Split...? What's that mean?"

Goku has seen firsthand when Tien split into multiple Tiens, Goku knows the Yardrats can split themselves into many ppl, he saw merged Zamasu split himself, & he saw Moro split himself. Why is he written so stupid? I need answers Toyo.

Page 40....

HOW IN THE HECK did Mastered UI get caught off guard?! Ain't it supposed to automatically grow sturdier as necessary?! Boy oh boy, this writing... A positive is that the punch looks like the 1 inch punch Goku did to Golden Freeza (inspired by the legendary Bruce Lee).

So if actual Granolah is twice as strong and can one shots UI Goku... Vegeta doesn't stand a chance. But the bad writing will make a way for Vegeta to look somewhat capable.

Granolah says UI becomes less sharp over time. Only problem is that Goku fought longer against Moro. This fight of UI Goku should have been longer. If the fight was longer when in the UI "transformation" then I would be more generous about Granolah finding an opening. Speaking of openings, Granolah says "opening" instead of "vital point." Must be a translation error.

Goku is in a near death-like state and Vegeta is like

VEGETA: "Leave that fool alone. Fight me instead."

Vegeta threatening Granolah is either stupid or smart. Smart = Vegeta provoking Granolah to get an advantage mentally. Dumb = Vegeta reverting to his Cell saga overconfidence that Toyo always does.

IN CONCLUSION:

STILL NO IMAGE OF FREEZA... I guess he isnt that important to the story after all. And this storytelling is so bad because Toyo can't stay consistent at all, he doesn't understand the characters, & he can't come up with anything besides "this form also drains stamina." You can say he & Toriyama write this together but I doubt it. Toriyama corrects his art & just gives the story a pass.

Recently it seems that Toriyama is more interested in the DBS movies being produced. Toriyama just writes an outline, Toyotaro & Toei write their versions of the story around that, Toriyama corrects Toyotaro's art & Toriyama also corrects or adds to what Toei thinks up. Example being when Toei created Kale & Toriyama created Caulifla in response.

I'm not excited for the next chapter. I don't care what Vegeta does. How is Vegeta going to win against someone who one shotted Goku in UI. Either the writing will be kinda smart or just plain stupid. I'm expecting stupid.

Idk if I'll review the next chapters. The bad writing was too much for me. I wrote this review last month right 1 day after the chapter came out, but I didnt want to read the manga again to get the images I need for this review. So I put it off for almost 1 month.

I wanna take a break from this bad manga...

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #dbs #dbs manga #dbs manga chapter 73 #review #Goku #Vegeta #Granolah

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lonelier-version-of-you · 2 years

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Every time I watch old Holby eps, which I’ve been doing a lot recently because my mom wanted to watch the whole Gaskell storyline, I miss the old theme music even more.

I still can’t fucking believe they didn’t even use the original theme for the finale, but then I guess that goes to show how much Holby disregarded its own history by the end. :(

Edit: Anyway, Sacha predicting the entire outcome of the Gaskell SL, basically - “Gaskell is potentially dealing in a fantasy off the back of a miracle.”

Edit 2: Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it recently, but I LOVE the way John’s body language is so reminiscent of Henrik’s. Still markedly different, but yet you can really see similarities too. I’m sure it was deliberate on Paul McGann’s part and I love it.

Also also, a line from John about picking candidates for the trial - “Emotion can play no part in the selection process.” That’s very early!Henrik.

Edit 3: Ooh. Ollie mixing up pronouns regarding a patient - “He’s... she’s waiting on an abdominal CT?”. Of course, Henrik goes on to do the same thing 10 episodes later right before his meltdown: “Right, he’s nearly... she’s... forgive me.” (And Ollie laughs at him for the mixup!)

Ollie also saying “here endeth the lesson” - I can’t recall the exact scene but I know Henrik’s said that before.

Just thought those little things were interesting.

Edit 4: I think this episode was one of the last times Fletch was worth watching - the subplot with Raf’s record collection is actually really emotional. Raf was Fletch’s soulmate and I’ll never stop believing that, sorry not sorry.

Edit 5: Not to be sappy but the kid patients on this show always get to me.

Edit 6: I’d forgotten they did actually did give an explanation for why Henrik wasn’t in the first few episodes of this series - he was pretty much isolating himself in his office and avoiding as much social contact as possible. (From John - “Hanssen’s locked himself away. I’m the next best thing, right?”)

Edit 7: Really interesting dialogue from John about removing a patient as a trial candidate because the risk would be too great. “[The patient’s father] will blame himself for making the wrong call. Believe me, it’s better the decision is taken away from him. Give him someone else to blame.”

Edit 8: The thing about alternating between watching early Henrik episodes (as I am in my personal Henrik and Sahira rewatch) and Gaskell episodes (which I’m watching with my mom) is that it REALLY makes you realise how similar Henrik and John actually are. The whole “I am you and you are me” didn’t come from nothing. John’s simply willing to take disregard for morality to a greater level than Henrik is.

Edit 9: Fletch REALLY should have left in early series 20, shouldn’t he? It was just the most natural point to bring Fletch’s time on the show to a close. He shouldn’t have stayed an additional 4 years and still been there when Holby ended.

Edit 10: I’d forgotten Jac and Essie shared all these scenes together.

Edit 11: Roxanna really had basically no personality but at least she was hot. (Seriously, if only she’d had things to do other than be a plot device for men. Hermione Gulliford was perfectly capable of playing an actual character, we saw that when Roxanna showed glimmers of personality.)

Edit 12: If I had a nickel for every time Donna treated a lesbian couple but Donna’s own bisexuality wasn’t mentioned, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that Holby did it twice.

Edit: Guess who said it: “Didn’t I make it clear that emotion has no place in this room?” Gaskell, or early Henrik?

(It was Gaskell but it could SO easily have been early Henrik.)

#i'm watching s20e03 now #gaskell rewatch liveblog

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sotorubio · 3 years

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The escape room clip is a perfect example of your point about this team not taking the show as serious as David, but the show being better bc of that. There’s zero plot in that clip bc the plot happens in the last one with Bilal not being able to pay. The whole point of the escape room outing is to show him struggling to hide that from his friends, so once that’s done you don’t NEED to see La Mif solve puzzles for 2 minutes, but I’m glad we do. One, it’s necessary lightness in a thematically dark season. Two, you see how much these characters like each other, which means any fallout they have later will hit harder and give you a reason to care. Three, you see their dynamics, personalities, how they work together and how they don’t, so characterization without the shadow of drama. And finally, the editing choices (dramatic music when Tiff plays the piano, the screen splitting into boxes when they’re almost of time) are just fun. It’s not Cinema™️ but it doesn’t need to be. I thought even Tiff was bearable here lol.

YES OH MY GOD YESSS!!!!

i loved that clip soooo much + it rly WAS a great way to bring some lighthearted fun into the eps since the events have been rly depressing so far, ur right!! n the fact that zak was included just makes it so sweet 🥺

this is why i rly like that they're giving us frequent short clips instead of longer clips every now n then bc while it can sometimes get a bit overwhelming & sometimes it'd be smarter to make longer clips this style allows them to make a few "useless" clips. n obviously they're not actually useless since, like u said, they showcase the characters' relationships & the group dynamic but like. they're clips that could easily be dropped n it'd have 0 negative effects on the plot but they still choose to keep these little moments in! like zak & bilal eating in the school cafeteria also didn't rly tell us anything that we didn't already know but it deepened the brothers' bond even more!! this is EXACTLY what skamfr has always needed they've gone plot first into everything despite the fact that skam is a character! driven! concept! n that's been my #1 complaint throughout my whole entire experience w skamfr but NOW they're finally getting it... like this clip rly made me finally think Ah yeah this is a skam. for the first time since like, season 5 probably.

(ALSO YEAH UR BRAIN.. i didn't even realize how they're building this very loving & supportive foundation now so it'll just be crushing when they're driven into conflict GOD i was just blissfully enjoying the nostalgic lamifex dynamic but ur so right it's just the calm before the storm 😃👌)

"fun" is truly the best word to describe this clip bc it was literally soo entertaining like yes!! the editing!! the quick dialogue n jokes!! the seconds running at the end of the time stamp!! genuinely such a good time. also agreed abt tiff! i mean i won't be able to enjoy her presence ever bc she had absolutely no redemption plotline but what is great is that she's just a side character now & bilal has other meaningful connections w la mif so her existence doesn't ruin it smfjdkkd at least not in this clip + lucie is such a great actress her yelling every time they got an answer right was so funny

also i am aware that this does happen w every skamfr season like the first 2-3 eps r very strong n good n then it rapidly goes down hill like even the horrendous seasons that were s5&6 did have promising starts BUT it's never been this fun & promising before so i'm reallyyyy hoping they keep it up 🤞 like cmon if u gave me a hourregue season where the main character starts to secretly live under his high school w his little brother bc some adults were fine w kicking out two underage kids who r already living alone i would already be laughing by now bc of the extreme drama but w this team it's actually working bc they actually put effort into the skam-aspect & the characters so the audience actually cares. let me eat my words in a few weeks when they probably just go off the fucking rails w the drama again but for now i'm gonna cautiously enjoy all these new experimental clips they're giving us

#inbox #anon #LOVED this ask u r so smart anon <3 #skam france

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pocketmouse18 · 3 years

Text

Thank you so much to @herosofmarvelanddc @cloudypaws and @mtab2260 for the tag! This was so much fun to think about :)

(fair warning, I wrote too much for many of these...)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just 2 :)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

450,577 if I did my math right!

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Officially? Just 1 - Agents of Shield (two, I guess, if you count MCU as separate, since I use characters from both...). Off the record, many more than that! I have lots of bits and bobs from other fandoms that I tinkered with when I was younger, still getting the hang of writing, not brave enough to post things, etc. etc. Some of those include X-Men, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Fosters, Star Wars, the Hunger Games, the 39 Clues, and a few others I can’t remember. None of those will likely see the light of day, mostly because they’re unfinished, not very good, and just not reflective of who I am as a writer anymore, but they were fun to play around with at the time :)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I just have the two, but The Important Thing is to Try wins, hands down, with 1227. Shoulder to Shoulder has 95, though, which I’m also very proud of! Important Thing has a definite advantage, being as long as it is, so I don’t know if that’s really a fair comparison between them.

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Or at least, I always try to! I just can’t believe someone would be kind enough to take the time to tell me what they thought of my story, so I always want to take the time to thank them and return the favor :) Plus, as I’ve learned, it’s a fantastic way to get to know some really lovely people!

6. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Well... I technically only have one story that has an ending, at least on Ao3, and it’s not an especially angsty one, since it ends in Phil and Melinda getting married :) I have some angsty chapter endings in Important Thing, if that counts? I’m not even sure if any of my unpublished fiddlings have angsty endings (most don’t have endings at all lol)... I don’t mind writing angst, but I don’t know if I’m capable of making something without a happy (or at least hopeful) ending.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've ever written?

Not really, unless you count AoS/MCU crossovers (which I guess technically count, but also I would argue it’s not a true crossover since (and I will die on this hill) AoS is a part of MCU canon). When I was younger I was a fan of playing around with crossover AUs more so than the actual characters crossing paths (so like, what if these characters from XYZ were demigods or went to Hogwarts or what have you, and not so much what would happen if the X-Men met Luke, Leia, and Han on one of their space adventures). I started writing a crossover between AoS and the Marvel Rising cartoon once (which again, not sure if that’s a true crossover, since Daisy was in Marvel Rising, but I digress), where Coulson tasks Daisy to work with Kate Bishop and Rayshaun Lucas to collect and train a team of young Inhumans, starting with Kamala Khan, but I ran out of steam pretty quickly when it got too plot heavy.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t think so. I’ve had some people not understand some choices that I made, but they asked it in a way that I thought was perfectly nice, and I was happy to talk about it with them. Sometimes people get “mad” at me when I cause pain and suffering, but I know that’s all in good fun :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope, not for me. I don’t read it or write it, personally. Writing a kiss is hard enough!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! Important Thing is probably too long and unwieldy to ever steal :P

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone once asked me on FFN if they could translate Important Thing to Russian, which was basically the coolest thing I’ve ever been asked!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A fic, no. I’d love to try sometime! I had a friend in college who I co-wrote with A LOT, though, so I know I enjoy that process, given the right partner. We wrote several short plays together (ranging from ~15-50 minutes in length, including one that we wrote in a single afternoon!), selected scenes from a larger (unfinished) play inspired by historical letters we found in an archive that were sent between a man from Massachusetts serving in the American Civil War, his wife, and his 8-year-old son, and several scripts for TV sitcoms (2 pilots for 2 different shows, plus additional eps for those pilots, and a couple of later eps for a different show that a classmate of ours wrote the pilot for - we were trying to practice what it would be like to be on a staff with a showrunner haha). The sitcom scripts in particular I’m very proud of, and could talk somebody’s ear off about if asked (one’s about ghost hunters and one’s about a DnD party!), but maybe that’s better saved for another post ;)

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That’s a very hard question for me! Mostly because shipping stuff is usually one of the last things to register for me when I’m thinking about shows/books/movies I like haha... I’m always a sucker for Philinda, and younger me was rather taken with Percabeth, I suppose.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hmm, several, really. The aforementioned AoS/Marvel Rising crossover I think could be really cool if I got it to work, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I also have a WIP that’s like an angstier version of a Hallmark Christmas movie AU where Daisy has to come home to her small town right before Christmas and figure out what she wants out of life, but I’m a little stalled out on that one, mostly because I’m waffling on who the charming love interest should be and because I don’t have enough of a plot, just lots of feelings about coming back home to a place you thought you had left behind lol.

I’d put Important Thing and it’s (as of yet) untitled sequel on here as things I want to finish, but I’m much more determined to see those through, so I don’t think they qualify for the “never will actually write” part of this question :)

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don’t know if other people agree with this, but I think I write pretty decent dialogue. My “training” (if you can call it that) is in, as you might have figured out by now, script and screenplay writing (those were the only creative writing classes I took in college). So having a sense of the rhythm a conversation needs to have and how to write dialogue that sounds mostly like how people really talk (but shined and tightened up enough so that it’s not actually like verbatim dialogue, which is far less interesting to read!) is something that I feel like comes pretty easily. I also think I do okay with similes and metaphors - my brain tends to work in that way. It’s easier for me to think of stuff (feelings, especially) in terms of comparing it to more familiar things than to just think of the thing directly, if that makes sense?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

If I was being honest, this would be a very long section, but I know it’s not fun to read a big ol’ paragraph of someone self-criticizing, so I’ll keep it to one or two items ;) A big one for me is pacing, I think. I tend to write more than I need to and to over-explain things, so my chapters get very long and sometimes don’t really go anywhere? Until all of the sudden, they DO, because things need to HAPPEN! I’m a pretty rigorous self-editor, but I do have a really hard time cutting out sections (unless they’re really just not working), so even if it would help the pacing to leave out this conversation between character A and character B, I often can’t make myself cut it. I also think I struggle sometimes with balancing my ‘showing’ and my ‘telling,’ especially in the sense of me over-explaining certain things - like when it comes to feelings/facial expressions/etc, for example. I compensate for that in Important Thing by making it a part of a few people’s POV, but it’s not really a good habit to have in general. Also spelling! I’m really bad at spelling and run my stuff through robust spellchecks and text-to-speech before I post anything to make up for it :)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do it with some regularity, although I always get nervous about doing it wrong! It’s hard to avoid in AoS, where characters are spies and should (in theory, at least) have a working knowledge of multiple languages (”We’re spies, I thought we all learned languages?!”). Even in an AU, where characters aren’t spies, I like to try and pay homage to that, plus pay homage to certain characters’ native languages or just general multilingualism. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around people who speak more than one language, so I feel like it’s a natural part of groups of people to have more than one language spoken. I have a pretty good handle on written Spanish, a patchy idea of French, plus I know some Russian phrases from my dad and some German words from my grandfather, but I do rely on internet translation a lot. I usually run stuff through google, then run it backwards to see just how far off the initial translation was, then consult some actual, like, language learning sites to see if there’s particular idioms or common phrases that use different words than what google will give me, then run those words through backwards in the place of the original words to see if I can massage the whole thing to sound reasonably competent. Languages like Russian or Mandarin (which have their own alphabets/characters) are the hardest, since I have to also try and do a transliteration. I always try to put an apology/disclaimer in the notes any time I write in a language that isn’t English, because I’m sure I make lots of mistakes.

Also, I tend not to italicize words that are in other languages, because it looks weird on the page to me to set the other language apart like that (and because I italicize mainly for internal thoughts or emphasis, and usually what’s being said in another language isn’t internal or being emphasized). I put a rough translation at the end so we don’t have to pause the story for a parenthetical translation, but because the translation’s not right there, I try to either put in enough context clues that a person can still understand what’s going on, or I make sure that what’s written in another language isn’t critical to the overall understanding of the scene.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Officially, it’s AoS, since that’s the only fandom I’ve published for. I think the first true fandom I wrote fic for was probably either Harry Potter (entirely populated with OCs lol, I just liked using the world/setting), Percy Jackson (a mix of OCs and canon characters), or X-Men (all canon characters). I was a bit of a latecomer to fanfiction, though, like, I wrote a ton as a kid, but mostly original stuff, because I didn’t know that fanfiction in its current form was even allowed until I was in high school lol.

Oh! I almost forgot one! I’m not sure if this really counts as a fandom, but it’s definitely the earliest version of fanfic I wrote haha... I was like 12 and I wrote more than one story of an OC joining Robin Hood’s band of Merry Men, and then also one of that same OC becoming a knight of the Round Table, so like... do what you will with that information haha.

19. What's you're favorite fic you've written?

I can’t choose between my two darlings :( I mean, okay, technically it’s probably Important Thing. That story’s my baby. It’s huge and I’ve been working on it for almost 2 years, and I’ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into it. I’ve fallen in love with the universe I built in it, so much so that I wrote an entire prequel and have very concrete plans for a lengthy sequel. But I can’t not crow about Shoulder to Shoulder (the aforementioned prequel!), too... I’m just really proud of that one - it has a lot of firsts for me. First completed story. First romance-focused story. First foray into expanding the Important Thing universe. But yes, if I have to choose, then Important Thing wins. That’s a story that I started writing exclusively for myself - to give myself characters I could relate to and to explore a style of AoS fic that I loved reading - and that’s a story I will always and forever be proud of.

I think most people have probably answered this tag game at this point, so I don’t want to accidentally retag anyone! If you haven’t yet, and would like to join in, please do! This is your invitation <3

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sweetmemories2606 · 4 years

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Dangerous Game (Gruvia and NaLu fanfic) Chapter 5

I am so behind on posting this one here, sorry about that. I hope people still remember this story, but in case you need a reminder, here's the basic info:

Title: Dangerous Game

Pairings: NaLu and Gruvia (main), Gajevy, Miraxus and MesCana (minor)

Summary: While Natsu wonders about all the times he failed to protect Lucy, Gray worries about the dangerous game that he's been playing. Who will have to pay the price for his decision to leave Juvia behind?

Timeline: Avatar Arc (SPOILERS if you haven't watched the first 8 eps of the Final Season)

Genre: Angst

Word Count: around 12000 words (all chapters)

Links: Chapter 1 (NaLu focused) Chapter 2 (Gruvia focused) Chapter 3 (NaLu focused) Chapter 4 (Gruvia focused) , Chapter 5 (Miraxus focused)

Also, if you want to read ahead: Chapter 6, (Gajevy focused) Chapter 7 (MesCana focused)

I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 5: Searching For Her

March X792

A lone figure walked along the forest, forced to take slow steps because of the snow. They were covered by a dark blue cape, hiding them from the world. Although, there wasn't anyone else in the forest.

After a long time, they found themselves standing before a large tree that was actually a house. With a relieved sigh, they made their way towards it and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" An angry yell was heard.

The figure removed her hood to reveal long, wavy hair as white as snow and big blue eyes. Gently, she answered. "It's just me, Porlyusica. Will you let me in?"

She was met with silence before another voice spoke. "Mirajane? What the hell are you doing here?" It was the person she had come here for. Laxus.

Mirajane had learned a few days before that he wasn't as okay as everyone had thought. Instead, the bane particles which he had inhaled in his attempt to save Magnolia had never left his body and continued to damage his organs.

Now aware of this, Mirajane had decided to try to help him, thus she had come all the way to Porlyusica's cottage where he had been staying for the past 2 weeks-much to his displeasure.

After being welcomed in and briefly chatting with Laxus and Porlyusica, she asked how she could assist. The healer informed her that the only way he could improve was for the particles to be fully removed, but that had proved impossible.

Having recently taken over all the demon gates from Tartaros, Mirajane suggested one of them should be able to do this. While Laxus was not in favour of her taking such a risk to save him, Porlyusica reminded him that he would die otherwise.

"This isn't your choice to make." Mirajane argued. "I came here to help you and I will do so, regardless of the risks."

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June X792

With Laxus healed, the only issue remaining was the unspoken feelings between them, which neither was willing to discuss as of yet. Instead they resumed their friendship as it was before the war against Tartaros, neither willing to take the next step.

They kept on like this for 3 months while staying at Blue Pegasus' hideout since Laxus had previously joined said guild and wished to return after he was healed.

The Thunder Legion and Blue Pegasus members certainly did not help them keep this charade, for they kept teasing the two despite their protests. Evergreen and Bickslow wasted no opportunities commenting on Laxus' feelings for Mirajane, Sherry and Jenny always made it clear she should make a move and even Itchia brought up the possibility that they were secretly dating at times.

"Will you just quit it?" Laxus yelled after they were teased again, making everyone silence. "There is nothing going on between us, so stop trying to pretend there is."

"But Laxus..." Evergreen tried, but was interrupted.

"Instead of trying to force us into a relationship, you should figure out what you want from Elfman." Laxus continued.

Her face paled at his words. "That's none of your business!" She snapped.

"Doesn't feel nice when people get into your business, does it?" He raised a brow.

Before the conversation could go any further, Sherry and Ren came into the hideout, looking nervous. "Mirajane, you have visitors."

The woman in question frowned, confused. Who could it be? After thanking them for warning her, she quickly left the room, eager to get away from the tension.

Once outside the hideout, she was surprised to find Jellal and Doranbolt-or was his name Mest?-standing in front of it, looking nervous. "Hello. It's been a while." She offered them a smile.

"Mirajane." Jellal greeted her with a nod. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"We need to talk to you about something important." Doranbolt spoke, tense.

"What is it?" Mira asked, concerned. Is something wrong? Why do they look so unsettled?

Instead of answering, Jellal suggested that they distanced themselves from the hideout since they didn't wish for their conversation to be heard by the Blue Pegasus members nor Laxus' dragon slayer hearing.

Once they were at a safe distance, in the heart of the forest where a long time ago the battle against Grimoire Heart and Jellal's revival had occurred, Doranbolt finally told her why they were there.

He mentioned that they had been searching for her for quite some time because she was the only one who could help them.

"Help you with what, exactly?" Mirajane asked.

Mest proceeded to explain his undercover mission at the council and how Makarov had instructed him to keep an eye on Alvarez. Then he mentioned how Angel, now known as Sorano, had warned him of their plan to send Lilith, a demon from the books of Zeref, to infiltrate Fiore.

Jellal noted how he believed that Mirajane could help them track Lilith since she was familiar with demons. He also highlighted how important this was since Lilith could be gathering sensitive information which would harm Fiore in case of war.

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It didn't take much to convince Mirajane to help. She easily agreed to join them in their search, thus they waited outside the hideout while she said goodbye to her friends and packed a small suitcase.

Laxus, who had disappeared while she was talking to everyone, showed up while she was packing. Without much time, they had a brief conversation about her leaving, the mission and his-barely concealed-concern for her safety.

He also thanked her again for saving him all those months before and let her know that if she ever needed his help during this mission, she should call him. Mirajane was surprised when Laxus presented her with a cellphone, Warren's new invention, but she gratefully accepted the gift.

They shared a rather awkward hug as she wondered if perhaps this was a good time to tell him how she had been feeling for a while. Unfortunately, he pulled apart before she could decide and left her with another goodbye.

She watched him leave the room, suddenly cheerless as she realised it might be a long time before she had another chance. However, there were bigger priorities at the moment thus she finished packing before going outside to meet Jellal and Doranbolt.

Their journey to find Lilith began that day and they were later joined by Meredy and Cobra- who now referred to himself as Erik. Over the course of their mission, Mirajane got to know all of them better and learned about their pasts, present and hopes for the future.

Neither member of the group expected that it would take them so long to actually find the demon, but 3 months passed and though they had searched almost all of Fiore, Lilith's trail remained cold.

After Mirajane received a letter from Lucy about Fairy Tail's reunion, she decided to briefly leave the group. What she didn't expect, though, is that this would be the answer to their quest.

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After watching Juvia threatening Lucy's life, and listening to her dialogue, Mirajane quickly figured out that this must be Lilith.

Knowing that the demon was in fact possessing the water mage made things more complicated because this meant she couldn't directly attack it without harming her friend. Thus Mirajane took some time to think of a solution while simultaneously contacting both Laxus and Crime Sorciére.

Unfortunately, the situation soon became even worse once Lilith trapped Natsu and Lucy. Though Mira wanted to help them, she quickly realised that the only way was for Juvia to take control back.

Gajeel and Gray seemed to think the same for they began encouraging the water mage. Mirajane was actually surprised when Gray confessed his love for Juvia in front of everyone, but relief soon filled her once the water mage returned.

When she apologised, though, Mira was back to worried and once she realised what Juvia was about to do, she screamed. "No, Juvia!" I can't let her die!

It was too late. Juvia had already stabbed herself before anyone could reach her. She let out a gasp before removing the bloody dagger and throwing it on the floor. Her face showed pain and sorrow, but also relief once she looked back at Gray.

He was the first to reach her, having ran so fast that even Jet seemed impressed. Mirajane watched, still in shock, as the ice mage held onto Juvia as her body gave in.

"No, please no." He kept mumbling while his hands desperately tried to stop the blood flow.

"You idiot! What the hell did you do?" Gajeel yelled at her, trying to take a step but Levy stopped him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Let Gray talk to her first." She told him gently.

"But I…." He looked back at the water mage in anger but also fear. Mirajane felt sorry for him. He doesn't deserve to lose his best friend.

She glanced around, looking for Wendy, who could surely heal the water mage. She was busy helping Lucy, who lay unconscious in Natsu's arms.

"Come on, Lucy." Mirajane overheard him plead. Poor Natsu. He must be so worried.

"She'll be okay." Wendy reassured him.

"I was supposed to protect her." Natsu lamented, frowning deeply.

"Don't." Juvia's plea made Mirajane look back at her and Gray. She noticed that he was about to use his magic to stop the blood flow. Why is she telling him not to?

"But Juvia..." Gray protested.

"I'm sorry." Juvia's hand reached for his hand. "I just wanted...to be free..." A pause. She coughed a bit, which reminded Mirajane of Laxus. I need to save her too…

"And you will be." Gray told her as he squeezed her hand. "We'll find another way."

Mirajane really hoped they would, but time was running out. Checking her phone again, she was disappointed to find no messages. Why aren't they answering? She started panicking as it became increasingly clear that she would have to figure this out on her own.

#fanfic #nalu #gruvia #miraxus #fairy tail #avatar arc #plot twist #angst #tartaros #demon #posession #zeref dragneel #mest gryder #jellal fernandes #wendy marvell #crime sorciere #random people #dangerous game #chapter 5

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tvlovesfandom · 4 years

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Mandalorian Season 1 Finale predictions

Or: how all those ‘Filler Episodes’ are foreshadowing the end of Season 1.

(Take 2 because tumblr ate the original)

Contains so many spoilers for The Mandalorian, Episodes 1 thru 7.

Aight, so.

Episode 7 of The Mandalorian walks up to you with a baseball bat and beats you over the head. It opens with Mando receiving a ‘plea for help’ from Greef Karga that raises more red flags than a Soviet Convention. While our protagonist can clearly see every single one of these red flags, the idea of getting the heat off his tail is just too tempting. Who can blame him?

Mando, proving to be Genre savvy, heads out, looking for backup.Of course, it all goes to hell anyway.

In Episode 7, we bring back characters from previous episodes and we also bring back certain aspects of Mando himself.

Hoo boy this is a long one. I’ll give you my best guesses for what goes down in Episode 8.

Episodes 1-3: The main plot line of course.

1-Greef Karga is a man of honor, same as Mando. His personal sense of honor is different than that of a Mandalorian of course, and it’s built around the Bounty hunter’s guild. But the honor is there, and it comes out in Episode 7.

(I find it really funny that Greef hasn’t repaired the hole in his jacket, FYI. Looks like he still has the beskar plates in there too.)

2-Kuiil and IG-11.

3-Episode 3 showed us that Mando can go on a rampage of destruction when he feels the need. It was not a heavily planned out rampage, clearly the plan was made up as he went along, but he is clearly a good improviser.

4-We were introduced to the Mandalorian clan on Navarro, even if it is pretty clearly stated that they’ve moved after Ep 3. Or were planning to before the Imperials rolled in.

5- Mando does have a short temper when he’s been having a rough go for a bit, look at him using his flamethrower to ‘negotiate’ with the Jawas.

6-He hates droids, but he is willing to work with one and can form something of a bond… not enough to let the droid kill a child though.

Episode 4: Hey look! It’s Cara Dune!

1-Episode 4 introduced us to Cara, and the fact that she and Mando can go toe to toe. The brief scene of her and Mando talking after their initial fight tells us a lot about her: She’s a shock trooper for the new republic, she was part of strike forces meant to take down Imperial warlords. She deserted when the republic set her to acting like a riot cop.

We see Cara as a no-nonsense fighter who knows the risks, and attempts to find the best solution. Look at her trying to get the villagers to move away after she learns about the AT-ST. But when spurred, she helps the fight and defend their home. She shows off her mettle, coming up with a plan on the fly and putting herself in danger to lure the AT-ST in.

When she comes back in Episode 7, we see her having fun with combat when it isn’t life or death. We also see that her and Mando can relax around each other and josh, as their arm-wrestling bout shows.

2-Episode 4′s ending was to emphasise to us that Mando can’t just leave the kid behind, that the baby is unsafe unless with a highly trained killer prepared to go to lengths to protect him.

3-In character building moments, we see Mando break his usual stoic nature to actually explain to first Omera, and then Cara, aspects of his culture. He turns out to be reasonably talkative when you’re not a bounty target or someone he distrusts! When Omera asked how long since he’d taken his helmet off in front of others, just the age he was would’ve been enough, but he adds more information about joining the Mandalorian clan unasked. Also, at the beginning of the episode, he makes a point to talk to the baby when it’s clearly demanding attention.

Episode 5: You know, initially I was going to say “uuuuhh… IDK”

1-MANDO CAN’T FIND WORK. He’s cut himself off from the only source of income that he’s familiar with. He has to take what’s offered, even if he knows it’s a bad idea.

2-Mando doesn’t have any way of keeping the baby safe when he’s working other than to lock him on the ship and hope for the best. He got really lucky with Pellli.

3-This episode reinforces again that the baby will be constantly hunted right from the opening scene.

4- We’re not done with Fennec Shand, I suspect. Or the person who found her body. Was it Moff Gideon? Maybe, though why would he have gone to find her himself?

5-This episode shows us what we might’ve forgotten from the opening of Episode 1: That Mando is actually a really competent Bounty Hunter overall. He has lots of tricks up his sleeve. Those flares were a chekov’s gun used within the same episode. Wonder if we’ll see them again.

Episode 6: Which buttons to press to piss off Mando.

1-Mando is really good at keeping his cool around people who are absolute motherfuckers to him.

2-Harass him, insult him, he doesn’t give a damn unless you actually try and start shit. He will end that. Don’t touch his things, don’t touch his kid.

3-Again this episode brings up that Mando is having to do work that he really doesn’t want to because he has few other options.

4-We see just how violent Mando gets on droids when he has the chance, but we also see how coldly calculating he is about them. To rope a droid, take it’s arm and use it to escape a cell like that? Damn impressive.

5-I can’t believe he didn’t kill those three who were on the prison ship with him. They’re out there, still alive. Just waiting to be brought back into the show.

6-We see that Mando knows how to turn the odds to his favor very quickly. We also see that he can go full on horror movie monster when he wants. He’s proving to be one hell of a Determinator.

7-Baby’s learning from the best! The fact that the little goblin can play hide and seek like that could easily come up! Honestly, that kid seems to understand more than you’d think.

SO! This brings us to episode SEVEN: What have we seen within the episode that calls back to the rest of the season? What predictions can we make based off what has happened, and the general style of the show?

Well, A couple very important things we’ve seen, some of which reinforces things brought up in previous episodes:

1-This episode makes it very clear that Mando KNOWS Greef’s offer is a trap, but he also knows that he’s running out of options. All those moments of him and baby being hunted down, all that effort to find work? That’s flashing through his brain as he considers this red-flag laden offer.

2-Baby can float? Wall-climb? He was hanging upside down from the ceiling SOMEHOW. Let’s add this on to his hiding abilities.

3-Baby can force choke a bitch.

4-Baby can heal a fatal injury.

5-Greef Karga, like Mando, cannot bring himself to betray a being that has saved his life. Lovely cinematic parallel there.

5-IG-11 is on Mando’s ship. According the Kuiil, the droid won’t attack people anymore, but it will defend. This droid has all the tools to lay some serious hate if sufficiently motivated though.

6-We see Mando relaxing and playing with Cara during the arm wrestling. He’s playfully competitive with her and joshes with her. Again, a good character moment.

7-Another character moment we see: Mando’s panic when he doesn’t know if the kid and Kuiil are safe. The stoic, self-contained man who doesn’t panic no matter how bad the odds is reduced to screaming into his comm, desperate for answers.

8-Kuiil introduces himself by name, and Mando uses it. It’s a small moment, but I suspect it’s light foreshadowing.

9- it is not for nothing that this episode opens straight up with a flashback to Episode 6. “You were hired to do a job. So do it. Isn’t that your code? Arn’t you a man of honor?”

ALRIGHT SO. SEASON FINALE PREDICTIONS. After I watch the finale I am going to see if any of these were right and I will be delighted if even a single one is accurate.

1-First and foremost, I think we WILL see the plot wrap up. Maybe not entirely, but by the end of Episode 8, we should see Mando and Baby reunited, and have a more-or-less happy ending to season 1. It’s fucking Disney, after all.

2- The fact that it was VERY SPECIFICALLY SHOWN that baby can heal fatal injuries in episode seven? Chekov’s gun, thank you, Kuiil is NOT DEAD. Yes, that scene narratively fits in because it’s what was needed for Greef to join the protagonist’s team, but I will feel cheated if we don’t see baby do more Force healing. If Kuiil is actually dead, someone else will be getting healed.

3-Mando’s helmet and how important it is that it isn’t removed comes up CONSTANTLY in season 1. I rather hope we don’t see it come off in the season finale, it is possible, but I do hope that they wait until at least season 2 before going there. There’s something else I’d like officialy revealed first.

4-And that thing I think should be revealed is Mando’s name. It’s something that he has yet to give out, accepting his culture as a title. Same as how Kuill corrected him in episode 7 when Mando called him Uganaught, it would be wonderful if some friend of our hero called him Mando again, and he simply said to them “I have a name. It is Dyn.”

Not only would that be a moment of reinforcement of how relaxed and friendly he can be around his allies, but I feel like it’s be satisfying from a narrative perspective.

5-In the trailers for the Mandalorian, there are only a few scenes or dialogue now that we have yet to see in the show:

-A-Mando comin out of a door and shooting a stormtrooper with Greef right behind him.

-B- Kuiil patting Mando’s shoulder while they’re in the cockpit of the Razorcrest (MORE PROOF THAT I AM RIGHT THAT HE’LL COME BACK. HELL YEA-Gonna be heartbroken if that was a deleted scene from ep 7) ((EDIT: Nope, that’s a scene from Ep 2. Damnit.))

-C- “Mandalorian… Look outside… they are waiting for you.” Aight so, Werner Herzog’s character seems to be dead… but he might not be! Maybe we’ll get some exposition from a dieing Imperial with nothing left to lose. Of course, it could be from a scene that they had planned out before deciding to kill off his character.

-D- Cara Dune being a badass and shooting with her big gun.- I mean yeah, to be expected.

-E- Mando clinging to a flying TIE fighter with his rappeling line and pulling himself up on to it. We see Moff Gideon look up to see a likely very pissed off Mando on the roof.

-F- Stormtroopers moving in on the Mandalorian Armourer.

(I actually gasped out “OH NO” at seeing this in the trailer. I honestly would’ve thought the Mandalorians would’ve relocated ASAP. ))

-G- This guy:

SO!

6-We’re definitely going to see the Mandalorian enclave again. My thoughts were that it was empty, but still hard to find, and Mando and friends were going to head there to have a few minutes to plan. They still might do that, but it’s not going to be an empty hallway like I would’ve thought.

7-I really hope that that brief cut of Stormtroopers moving in on the Mandalorian Armourer is not indicative of the clan being wiped out. Everyone go in being braced for it. I am going to be optimistic and say that Episode 3′s ending of the clan coming to our Protag’s rescue and being an absolute unstoppable force means that they’re going to help clear out the imperials, though there will be losses. Season 2′s overreaching plot will be helping the Enclave find a new place to settle down.

8-This does hint that Baby will meet the Clan. Will they continue to support Dyn, or will he be blamed from bringing this hellfire down on them?

9-IG-11 is going to come rain down HELL on those who took down Kuiil. He will likely pick up both Kuiil and the communicator and be an important link to Mando and crew remotely. Will he pilot the ship to pick up Mando and gang? Very likely yes.

10-Baby is gonna Force Choke a bitch. Hopefully Moff Gideon. I don’t expect baby’s efforts to be fatal, however.

11-Paz Vizla is going to be back in style. Is it too much to hope that, at some point, likely not Ep 8, him and Cara get into a “whose gun is bigger” match?

12- Baby’s going to be more than his imperial handlers know how to deal with.

That’s it for now. I’m sure at some point I’ll edit or reblog this with “AND ANOTHER THING.”

#mine #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian #I spent TWO DAYS on this post and Tumblr didn't put it in the tag for some reason #TUMBLR PLEASE PUT THIS IN THE MANDALORIAN TAG I BEG YOU

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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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December 23: 1x29 Operation Annihilate!

I’m very tired but at least I’m done with work for the year! Now to...set about furiously writing because I’m behind on like 3 different events, including, most egregiously, Chopped. Woah well. Here are some thoughts on the FINAL EPISODE of TOS season 1.

This ep isn’t messing around with the drama. Very first scene involves chasing a ship that’s flying into the sun.

Sam! I have a lot of Kirk brother feels even though tbqh they’re entirely about a relationship made up in my head. Like, there’s not really a lot of canonical Kirk brothers content, in either TOS or AOS (okay, nothing in AOS...technically...) but in my head it’s like this whole Thing and I’m obsessed.

This is one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy I guess? Looks a lot like generic California to me. Cool architecture though.

I think I missed the explanation of what this planet does lol.

Sam is a research biologist.

His wife has such a weird name that I sometimes think of her as an alien but I guess they are all human. Less interesting lol. She might become an alien in HAICG but probably not.

All the people are in their homes, hiding out. I know this is to save money on extras, and then in-universe I guess because people hide from that which scares them, even when that’s pointless, but all I could think was “they’re self-isolating.”

Kirk and co. go to Sam’s lab to find him, but his whole family is there... do they... live in the lab?

We finally meet Sam...and he’s already dead. So bitter about this.

I remember a specific close up of just Sam’s face where it’s super obvious it’s Shatner with a mustache but this seems subtler... has it been edited, or am I mis-remembering?

Spock doesn’t know what to say. Does he really “understand” lol? He wants to be comforting though.

Guess Aurelan calls him Sam too. Thought that was only Jim.

I remember someone on tumblr pointing out that Jim beams down to the top of the stairs just so he can walk down them dramatically and now I can’t unsee it.

I’ve also heard people make fun of the aliens but I legit think they are alien looking and scary and gross. “It’s not life as we know or understand it.”

Been a while since we saw Christine and here she is.

“Spock’s readings are strange... even for him, which is saying something!”

“If you can’t do this, get another nurse!” What other nurse lol? This whole ship has a medical staff of 2.

“His body’s full of tentacles.” That is legitimately disgusting.

This is a very bad day for Kirk.

Spock’s on the loose, we must catch him--oh how convenient, he is here on the bridge!

Must...pinch... Captain...

“I apologize for that mutiny attempt back there. We’re all good now.” And miraculously, he actually is.

I HAVE MY OWN WILL. LET ME HELP. Interesting phrase there!

The needs of the few do outweigh the needs of the many. He MUST save Spock. And his nephew.

Is Spock, uh, hypnotizing himself? I don’t know if I believe that Vulcans can just stop themselves from feeling any pain.

“I was confined to sick bay. I unconfined myself.” He is really determined to run this errand. This needs to be the attitude I take toward my errands.

Bad ass Scotty. “Captain, your space husband is trying to escape.”

Kirk is so in love. “Your logic, as usual, is inescapable.”

McCoy just wants his patients to stay put.

I love when McCoy just randomly examines people.

“Your affection for Spock.” That’s one way to put it.

I feel like it took them way too long to figure out that the sun produces light. “What are the properties of the sun?” / “It exists.” Starfleet’s finest minds, everyone.

These creatures are sort of...like vampires. In a way.

Cool specs. I want a pair of those (prescription).

“The best first officer in the Fleet!”

“I am also quite blind.” What a drama queen. He knew he was blind already, obviously, he just needed to bump into something and make a big production out of announcing it.

And then literally seconds after blinding Spock, the tests they were ALREADY RUNNING come back and they realize that they never needed to use the blinding light. Like... I appreciate the drama but omg you dumbasses. And you call yourselves men of science. It wasn’t even like they hadn’t thought to do the tests. They were doing them!

Jim’s mad now.

Ew, gross, disintegrating vampire creatures. Clean up is going to suck.

I feel McCoy’s grumpiness about the weird eye thing lol. Unexpected...optic nerve...thing. Except actually it’s the eyelid? Developed to respond to “the brightness of the Vulcan sun”? That Spock just FORGOT he had? Very suspicious. I suspect more manufactured drama.

Uhura’s really enjoying this banter.

YOU FORGOT ABOUT HIS VULCAN EARS.

This whole last scene is so good. If you’re going to go on hiatus for 6 months, this is the way to do it.

I legitimately love this episode. Yes, there were moments when Kirk and friends were kind of dumb: taking forever to think about light (not buying McCoy’s line about how “light isn’t harmful” because first of all, there are nocturnal creatures on Earth so the idea that a living being might not like the sun isn’t weird, and second, even if it WERE weird, these are ALIENS so--think more broadly!); and being so quick to test out the light on Spock (while the results from the first test were still ongoing!) but I’ll forgive them that. Everyone has blind spots. Even very smart people can get caught up and not think about stuff that seems obvious as soon as they realize it. Plus, with the tests on Spock in particular, I can see how the urgency of the situation, the excitement of coming up with a potential solution, Spock’s desire to be free of the pain and also to be Dramatic again, and Kirk’s general commanding presence, might have all combined to lead them to jump the gun.

Also they totally forgot about Peter by the end lol. I mean we assume he got the same light treatment that Spock and the planet did but he’s also an orphan so...where does he go lol?

But other than that, pretty perfect episode! Got some good K/S moments. Some Kirk family stuff, even if it’s not a big element and also probably superfluous given that Spock being injured gives Kirk exactly the same personal stake as a family member being injured does. GREAT alien: I’m always here for any ep that can reasonably sneak in an “it’s not life as we know it” line. I like that they’re one giant organism, but spread out over a great distance; they’re using people for their bodies, to build ships and basically be their colonizers for them; they infect people in a gross and scary way; they’re defeated in an unusual manner. Basically, a great combination of Alien, as in unusual, and frightening.

And it’s a PERFECT triumvirate episode. A lot of focus on all three, and on their strengths. A philosophical problem that puts the difference between Spock (we must destroy the comparatively few to protect the many) and McCoy (we cannot kill that many people for any reason) into stark contrast, and then sets up Kirk as the fulcrum between them (we’re not killing anyone, now or later, just find my a solution--that great combo of optimistic and commanding). Kirk gets a special spotlight appropriate for him as Captain: he has to make these big decisions that could lead to a million deaths, while also thinking about the people important to him. Spock gets a spotlight that emphasizes his Vulcan nature. Mccoy gets a spotlight that emphasizes his role as doctor. They all get to interact together in a way that shows their real affection for each other. There are great moments like them all squashed in the doorway, or when Spock is blinded and Mccoy has to hold Kirk back from helping him TOO much. The banter at the end is easily among the top end-scene bridge dialogues of the season. And it’s a good note to end on because it sets up the importance of the triumvirate going to S2.

I am not going to take a 6 month hiatus lol. Next time, probably next week, not really sure, is Amok Time! Truly a wild choice to start out the season.

#the year 2020 #2020: star trek #2020: fandom thoughts #star trek tos

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overthinkingkdrama · 4 years

Note

I'm watching My Country on Netflix even though I'm behind (because I couldn't resist big screen, HD Jang Hyuk lol), so I'm just in episode 6 but I really like it. I feel some things have been superficially shown to us in the first episodes, but I don't really care at his point because the interactions between everyone are just fire lol. I didn't know the two leads but I've been really happy with their acting and the relationship they have lol and well...

(continue last ask, sorry it's too long) ... well, I've been screaming whenever they interact with Jang Hyuk, I'm drooling over his performance as Bang Won, and I think the scene with him and Kim Seol Hyun's character in ep 6. was just sooo intense! I love it! All af them have tense scenes with him and I'm living for them. Have a nice week!

I think some of the reason the first weeks might feel somewhat rushed or “superficially shown” as you aptly put it, is because this drama is going to be 16 episodes, but as a sageuk with a fairly involved and complex story in it could probably easily sustain being 20-24 episodes, which is a little bit more standard. If it was a longer sageuk it would probably have spent a good episode or two on the main trio’s childhood backstory and connection, but instead that information is handled in brief flashbacks. I don’t mind them doing it that way, but it does hamper their ability to handle some of the subtleties more completely.

As you said, the acting in this drama is really on point. Everyone has hella chemistry. (And I don’t necessarily mean romantic chemistry, but, lol, let’s face it. I do mean that.) Because the actors seem so immersed in their roles and play off of one another so well, it feels like there’s way more substance packed into their interactions than the drama actually covers through dialogue and exposition. Which is fabulous.

I’ll be honest, I signed on to watch when they cast Woo Do Hwan and Yang Se Jong. I don’t know YSJ’s work as well, but the things I’ve seen him in so far told me he was a very capable actor, and I’ve been a slavering Woo Do Hwan fangirl ever since Save Me even though he hasn’t made a good drama since Save Me up until My Country started. (Yay! Vindication!)

But when I heard Jang Hyuk was going to be playing Bang Won I was entirely sold on the concept. That casting just seemed so perfect on face value...I can’t even really explain it. I watched SFD and because I liked it so much I read up a bunch on the history. Anyway, I love Jang Hyuk as an actor. He’s top tier, even if the quality of his dramas is all over the place, he’s got the chops, man. He didn’t get a ton of screen time in the early episodes of My Country, but every second he gets he uses to the fullest. The little choices he makes in terms of his voice and inflection, eyes and expression, props (the fan! *shrieking*) and gestures. Like, I think everyone is doing a really good job, and the drama is clearly extremely well directed, but for me Jang Hyuk is totally stealing the whole damn drama.

And yes, that scene between him and Seolhyun was so intense. I think I forgot to breathe. It’s honestly a shame that their two characters haven’t had more interactions up to this point, because I need me more of that. As it is, every single one of Bang Won’s conversations with Hwi I find myself wanting to wind back and watch over and over again. It’s so good I feel like I can’t fully appreciate it one one go through.

For me, this is definitely one of the best and most addictive sageuks in many years.

Thank you for dropping and giving me the opportunity to fangirl with you. Happy Halloween! Happy watching!

Jona

#my country #my country: the new age #jang hyuk #woo do hwan #yang se jong #kim seolhyun #answered

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callingalldinosaurs · 5 years

Text

ugh you know they really could have done s5 and 6 without becho at all

like seriously, amongst some of the worst writing decisions ever in this show, becho has to be up there. i've never seen such a forceful take on a relationship in a show before and it's driving me NUTS.

not only do bob and tasya (no hate to them at all) have terrible chemistry together, it actually ruins the vibe of the other interactions bellamy has with people

their interactions are so uncomfortable to watch cos it just looks so FORCED and FAKE

and then when you cut to scenes of bellamy with clarke and octavia it's just SO STIFF and hOW IS IT THAT THEY'RE SO A-OKAY ABOUT A GIRL WHO HAS YET TO ACKNOWLEDGE/APOLOGISE FOR ALMOST KILLING BOTH OF THEM ?¿

it's mainly echo's character I have the problem with. and yeah i know that's HER character and it's how she is. i don't like it. she takes 0 responsibility for her actions (that whole forgiveness dialogue between bell and her was absolutely laughable) so i can't imagine her and bellamy ever getting along on the ship. her character has no substance AT ALL. like AT ALL. i barely felt a thing for her in 6×04 when she "broke down" (lmao) in front of bellamy at the end about her parents because the whole thing just felt so unnatural and tbh gross and uncomfortable. the fact that they haven't even talked to each other about their families and their past, when they spent SIX YEARS together, is honestly very telling about how close they actually are with each other.

they have no connection at all. like zip zap nada none.

and tbh I had the same problem with previous bellamy partners. gina was just like ?¿ wtf who are you ?¿ no character substance. no development at all cos she was just killed off in two eps. i didn't even care that she died because why should i have? the difference here with becho is it's literally the same as with gina, except they're just dragging it on and on and on. with gina, the line raven had "too bad you were never that devoted to gina" would have been SO MUCH MORE MEANINGFUL FOR THE AUDIENCE if we had seen them TOGETHER. (didnt they just make out and part ways and then she died?)

sorry if you ship them and this offends you. honestly you should have stopped reading from the title if you get butthurt easily. don't throw your knives at me.

and if you think i'm just a crazy bellarke shipper who can't see bellamy or clarke with any other partner. i loved clarke and finn together. i loved clarke and lexa together. but bellamy's partners have been so awful and bland and stiff and gross so there. jroth what're you even doing to my poor boy?

if they wanted echo on the ship (which btw they set up some really good future development on her part when they showed the scene of bellamy convincing her to live and come onto the ship) they could have established becho mid or end s5. idk i just hate that they were offscreen in development because their chemistry gives no good vibes now and it makes it very hard to believe they bonded with each other over the 6 years.

there's my 2 cents. becho can exit the show pls. i would like to see echo and bell develop as their own people pls pls pls

#spacekru #the 100 #the 100 s6 #the 100 spoilers #anti becho #antibecho

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shijiujun · 5 years

Text

tang yi’s miracle suit - ep 4

this won’t be a detailed summary of episode 4 today because i’m tired after a crazy work day and it’s avengers end game tomorrow i am stoked and nervous and dying but first, history3

jack brings zhao zi to this dark room and tries to “interrogate” him - personally i think this is the worst interrogation ever EVER, and he just keeps asking zhao zi where shao fei brought tangyi to, and showed him the video of shao fei and tang yi at the stairs of the restaurant exit leaving tgt

jack wants zhao zi to call shao fei and doesn’t believe zhao zi when he says he’s tried shao fei’s number repeatedly and failed to reach him, insists that zhao zi give him shao fei’s number and to call him on zhao zi’s phone

you gotta admire zhao zi for his loyalty as he insists that even if jack hits him to death he won’t give up shao fei’s number or call him, but then again jack isn’t exactly the most intimidating person at this moment to zhao zi

now to the exciting parts: shao fei and tang yi escaping to the brick hut

the wound scene we’ve all been waiting for: i love how surprised and touched shao fei looked when tang yi helped him to bandage the arm, dialogue is exactly the same as the trailer

bonus: shao fei yelling at tang yi asking if it’s so difficult to say thanks, and tang yi says it grudgingly, and shao fei takes issue with his tone and says “must you say that in that tone?!” - and tang yi immediately goes “i’ve said it. now what do you say?” - and HILARIOUSLY shao fei doesn’t miss a beat as he says “you’re welcomed”

tang yi goes to find wood and warns shao fei not to follow him and just to stay

AND THIS IS WHERE I TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLE SUIT: wow okay idk if you guys noticed but i would love to get one of tang yi’s any suits if they would stay that squeaky clean through a beating, a car fight and kidnapping, a race through the woods, back and front rubbing against rocks and walls - tang yi looks like he went out to collect and also saw a laundromat on the way and decided he had time to clean his clothes because IT’S SO DAMN CLEAN?! shao fei is in drips and draps of cloth, his jeans has a hole in it etc. and tang yi’s white shirt is CRISP, WHITE, CLEAN

suit aside, tang yi comes back with firewood and then LOL shao fei is like this kid - he asked tang yi if he’s SURE that there’s no way down the mountain for now, and that he’s hungry, if only there was a chicken over the fire right now and LOOK AT TANG YI’S DEADPAN GLARE in response

shao fei wants to go sleep, tries to invite tang yi to sleep also and tang yi is like ‘sleep with you?!!!’ and shao fei is like ‘yeah duh’ but tang yi ignores him, so and shao fei tries to take tang yi’s lighter, and that’s when tang yi goes all emo and angsty and possessive over it

flashback to when tang guo dong was still alive and basically the conversation is about his motivations behind going legal in their business and that he really wants to show tang yi that leading a safe and peaceful life is good - FORESHADOWING

back to the present - shao fei lies down to sleep on this wooden carton thing and tang yi is like ‘you really can sleep just anywhere’, to which shao fei says ‘being able to sleep anywhere is important, a rich person like you of course isn’t used to not sleeping in a bed’

tang yi gives us a glimpse of his younger days as he says that he learnt how to dislocate his thumb by doing it from young, repeatedly dislocating and letting it heal and dislocating it again until he could do it easily, and does this sound like something a person who’s grown up with money in his life would do?

okay SO MANY UNSHED TEARS AND GLISTENING EYEBALLS IN THIS EPISODE

shao fei apologizes to him for simply assuming that he had something to do with the case and basically creating trouble in this situation - tang yi just goes “even a monkey like you knows how to reflect (on your actions)”

then shao fei goes back to lie down and tries to sleep, invites tang yi to sleep, and when tang yi just stares again, shao fei is like okay im gonna sleep night night and JUST GOES TO SLEEP WITH A SMILE

MORNING SCENE: okay HOW CUTE IS IT THAT TANG YI ACTUALLY GAVE SHAO FEI HIS JACKET AND SLEPT ON HIS KNEES/CALVES

once again, tang yi’s miracle shirt and suit jacket strikes again - clean, crisp, white, perfectly tucked in like pls get me some fabric like that

and poor bb shao fei is having a fever from the infected arm wound (gosh the bandaging was bad) and tang yi is like dude we can’t stay here, it’s daylight and the bad guys are going to come find us any minute, and he realizes that they need to leave now

shao fei is still coherent enough to realize that tang yi gave him his jacket during the night awwwwwww

shao fei pls just follow tang yi, don’t keep tripping over yourself, safety first

that’s pretty much it for ep 4, but what i’m excited for is the ep 5 PREVIEW!!! wow all the interesting scenes from the trailer crammed into the ep 5 preview, i think it’s going to show over ep 5 and 6 frankly judging from the ep length

anyone else as excited as me for the handshake and meal scene?!!!!

#history3圈套 #history 3: 圈套 #history3: trap #history 3: trapped

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silverinia · 5 years

Note

For that fic ask thingy... tell us about Lillies 😊😘

Hahaha, what all 15 questions? Okay, let’s do this 🙅🏻‍♀️

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

It must have been during one of my TGW rewatch sessions that I realized that after ep 1x13 they never mentioned Spellman and Diane being threatened by him again (I guess they were still experimenting with the characters and this storyline only served to show a more vulnerable side of her and to introduce us to her conflict of being pro gun control but still enjoying to carry at the same time). And the idea for the fic just popped into my head and wouldn’t let me go again, so yeah, here we are 😄

The most important thing to me was to do it in a respectful and realistic way, I never wanted to write about the topic of sexual assault for the assault itself, rather wanted to show those characters trying to wrap their lives and their relationship around it and moving on together, if that makes sense. That’s also why the bigger part of the fic takes place after the incident.

2: What scene did you first put down?

Well… I did start with the first chapter and took it from there, I find that this is the easiest way for me to write because I can build up the suspense more easily when I do it like this. The first scene that I pictured in my head before I even began the outline though was their fight in Chapter 11, that was the scene that wouldn’t let me go and eventually made me write it all.

3: What’s your favourite line of narration?

Hmm, I think it’s a tie between “Skin against skin, their embrace was the peak of intimacy in the purest and most innocent way.” in Chapter 38 and “And all those realizations, all those great things about this wonderful man who was standing there, waiting for her, waiting to agree to spend the rest of his life with her and the huge declaration of love he had just wordlessly told her with the way he was looking at her and the fact that she was finally able to hold that gaze, they shot hot tears into her eyes.” from the wedding chapter. That first one really reflected the deep level of trust between them, even though she wasn’t ready to sleep with him again, and I liked the contradiction in the term peak of intimacy. And the latter, I don’t know. It summed up their journey in this story, how he helped her overcome those insecurities, how he gained her trust over the course of this and, tbh, I also just really liked the image of her, walking down the aisle to him…

4: What’s your favourite line of dialogue?

Okay, there are certain parts of dialogue that I liked, but for stand-alone lines it would either be “You’re not a victim, Diane. You are a survivor.” (Chapter 28) or “Diane, you never needed anyone to save you. […] But I’m glad you let me help you save yourself. Because I love you.” (46, proposal chapter) (side note: this line was one I wrote towards on from a very early chapter. I thought about making it the last line for quite a while, thought about putting it in his vows but then settled on this), both said by Kurt because I needed him to believe in her strength at a time in which she couldn’t do that for herself. I like the empowerment of her independence in those lines. They really sum up how I wished to portray a woman who was forced to go through something like this. Like a survivor instead of a victim and as someone who didn’t need a knight in shining armour to save her from the pain. That was really important to me.

5: What part was the hardest to write?

God, so many 😂 The nightmares and their aftermath were very, VERY difficult though. Most of Kurt’s and Will’s dialogue with Diane in the greater part of this were incredibly difficult because I remember just sitting in front of the screen and thinking, What the hell are they supposed to say? I realized how intuitively you fall into the clichées of ‘How are you?’s or ‘If there’s anything I can do…’s and that sucks. Because it’s obvious that they’re not good. And it’s obvious that someone like Diane would never reach out for help if they don’t just give it to her without another word of questioning, as they end up doing. So, yeah. That was hard. But I wanted to do it right, so I guess it was at least worth it 😅 at least I hope so.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

One, that it was my first. I had almost 40 chapters of it written when I began to post it because this was all new territory for me, fanfiction, this particular fandom and their response to new writers, general perception of a difficult topic like rape… And then, of course, my own response to writing about it. I mean, as a writer, you really don’t just need to dive into those characters’ heads but also into your own to put at least a few emotions into it. I didn’t know if this was going to bring me down really bad, if I would cry during the process (fun fact: I did. Three times, I think) and if I could even go through with it and finish it at all. I also went through a lot of major life changes when I started to write this and I think that not only my writing changed a lot over the cause of it, but I as a person did, too. It’s very close to my heart. I associate certain chapters with the states that I was in when I wrote or edited them and that makes it pretty special 💕

7: Where did the title come from?

Okay, I really don’t know how to answer that. I’m really, really bad at coming up with titles. Actually, I think that this didn’t have a real title up until I started posting it because then I had to name it somehow. I’d referenced both the infamous white calla lilies and the smell of gunpowder a lot already at that point and I kinda just thought that they were sweet symbols for the two of them 🤷🏻‍♀️ I played around with several different titles and when this came out of nowhere, it felt right. It made sense because it was like a theme, threading through the story, and it sounded melodic and I honestly was just glad that I didn’t have to name it something too long and too ridiculous, like I did now with most of my other fics 😶

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of this?

Difficult question. I think that (sadly), most women have had to deal with sexual assault at some point in their lives. I saw my friends and family reacting to my stories in similar ways Kurt does in the fic.

On a lighter note, a guy I really loved inspired lots of the happier parts in it. And my best friend, my own, female Will Gardner, she’s in a lot of it, too 💕

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Only in my head. Regarding whether or not I would have Kurt shooting Spellman, if I would kill Spellman off at all, if they should get married in the end, if I would write about Diane handling a rape case when she’s better (found the middle ground on that one in the epilogue, but this could have been an entire storyline) and so on. But the version I uploaded is the only one I wrote, though I did consider writing a sequel for it until I decided that the two of them had suffered enough in this alternate universe, so I created a new one around my idea and Everything’s gonna be alright was born.

10: Why did you choose this paring for this particular story?

Okay, first of all, I’d say that I chose this story for the pairing and not the other way around, and yes, I think there’s a huge difference in that.

I wanted to unravel them. They’re such amazingly complex characters, both incredibly proud and I really wanted to make them vulnerable (as I’m typing this, I’m very aware of that this makes me sound like a freaking psychopath). And the no. 1 thing, apart from politics, that always drove Kurt and Diane to each other was the (sexual) attraction between them. And while it is of course another layer of the depth of their relationship, another level of their bond, I wanted to explore the characters in a state where that bond was no easy way out. Two people that tend to choose physical attraction over having to deal with their emotions, who choose make-up sex over talking through their problems (sans season 3 of TGF because they’re perfect now), I wanted to explore what would happen if they couldn’t do that anymore, put them in a situation in which they had to confront major issues in another, healthier way.

11: What do you like best about this fic?

Oh God.

I tried to make it emotionally deep and respectful regarding the heavy topic. I tried not to rob Diane of her independence, rather wanted her to find additional strength in Kurt instead of completely making her depend on him. I wanted her to work this out in realistic timing and I didn’t want to rush their way back to physical intimacy. I wanted him to react to her pain and her ways around it, find his own mechanisms to deal with those and to the pace she set with it in the right way. And I don’t know if I did all that, but I’d like to hope so.

And I really like Chapter 38, because I think it underlined a lot of that.

And I ended up really liking the title of the fic.

12: What do you like least about this fic?

Hah, definitely the first few chapters. I mean, the characterisation was alright I guess, but my writing was just awful. Like, I never love my writing but sometimes it’s exceptionally bad, as it was in those first few chapters. Sometimes I scroll through them and want to rewrite it all, but it’s part of the journey and that’s why I don’t do it.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I always listen to music when I write and the first thing that comes to mind here is Debussy’s Clair de Lune. And not just Clair de Lune, no, I mean the YouTube extended version that keeps on going for an hour. Over and over again. That’s why I referenced it in the proposal chapter, it really deserved to be mentioned at that point.

I also listened a lot to Lana del Rey and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds during Chapters, I dunno, ten to thirty, I guess, for the angsty mood (honourable mentions: Tomorrow never came, Young and Beautiful, Art Deco and Blue Jeans; Into my Arms, Henry Lee and Where the Wild Roses Grow (ironic, I know)) and the song Firefighter by Cigarettes after Sex.

And for the happier Chapters after that lots of Cigarettes after Sex and Beach House (literally cannot put what their music does to me into words. It’s art, almost magical, really) (honourable mentions: Apocalypse (please do yourselves a favour and listen to this song), Sweet and Sunsetz; Myth, Space Song and On the Sea (over and over again during the epilogue)), Florence and The Machine AND Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Lots of great music.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from this fic?

Huh. Well, it might sound bitchy or self-absorbed, but I mostly just write what I want to write. I want to study characters that I love and I want to write in a way that might hopefully touch people on any level, whether it’s humour or angst, I kinda just like the idea of writing words that make people feel things.

But if anyone’s learned something regarding the subject and their views about it, I’m more than happy and thrilled about that, though I wouldn’t put the praise for that on myself but rather on the ones who learned, you know? ‘Cause it’s one thing to write, it’s another thing to learn from reading. That requires more effort on the readers part IMO. I just can’t say that it was my intention to write something that holds major life lessons or revelations, I really just wanted to write and reach people emotionally by doing that and to maybe give them something they would enjoy by doing something that I enjoy.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

That love doesn’t solve all issues solely by itself and that it’s only enough if every involved party works to let love stay a beautiful thing instead of letting it grow to become something painful.

I learned a lot about sexual assault and how it’s handled in the social system when I did my research.

I already knew that if bad things happen to you, they still don’t need to define you if you don’t let them, but I learned that it’s not a bad thing if they shape you in some ways.

And I learned how much I missed writing until I did it again for this fic. And I learned that, oddly, my writing is able to touch some people. And even though I don’t want other people’s feedback to be my motivation when I write, I learned how wonderful it is to have strangers reaching out to you when they take joy from something you love to do.

—–

This is long, but yeah. Thanks for the questions, honey, this was very nice ❤ I feel all warm inside now, ew, feelings, ugh.

#fanfiction #fanfic #ask #can i tag mchart?#i'll just do it #mchart #thanks for the ask!#i loved this #lilies and gunpowder

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mindibindi · 5 years

Note

Do you have any tips for writing fanfiction?

Hey, Anon, thanks for the ask and sorry about the delayin replying. I’ve been writing fanfiction for so long that I’ve gotten into abit of a routine with it so I had to have a think about what I actually do. These tipsare based on my own writing practice, experience and approach to fanfic.But I would encourage you to keep asking this question, keep chatting withother authors (some might be kind enough to comment here) as you search for your ownunique writing style and practice. Everyone’s will be different and, as long asit works, I say stick with it. I’m assuming that you’re a new or aspiringauthor so I hope one, some or all of these tips prove useful.

1. Get In The Zone: Find the time of day when yourbest writing happens. For me (rather inconveniently when there’s work to bedone), this is first thing in the morning. For others, I’ve heard it’s themiddle of the day or late at night. But you will know this time when you find itbecause words and ideas will flow freely and easily, faster sometimes than yourfingers can keep up. Revel in this time, use it well then stop writing when theenergy runs out. Nothing good was ever produced by pushing past inspirationinto frustration or exhaustion. That said, inspiration can strike at any time – while watchingan ep or taking a walk or going about your work or trying to fall asleep. When itdoes – whether it’s an opening line, a plot point or snippet of dialogue – jotthose ideas down.

2. Watch (and Rewatch) Your Source Material: Thismay sound obvious (and not much of a chore for a fan) but watching whatevermovie/show/whatever you’re working from helps you to pick up the jargon of thatworld, to absorb the particular milieu, to know the people, places and canon(before you presumably diverge from it). The best fanfic gets both the bigpicture and the little details right. Without these firmly in place, you riskwriting a story that doesn’t ring true to the basic characters, tone orsituation you’re attempting to emulate. You want to extend a reality you love,not break it. So always be on the lookout for any little thing that mightfracture this reality and cause readers to fall out of a world they (you mustassume) know equally well. As a reader, there’s always a jolt when this happens, a dishearteningplummet. So know your stuff before you put pen to paper.

3. Get the Voices Right: Unlike character which canbe ambiguous, changeable and open to interpretation, every fan becomes attuned tothe particular voices of their favourite characters. When reading, you don’t need to work toknow when an author gets this right. You can just hear it. You can also (unfortunately)hear the tiniest slip in consistency and truth. I have written for somecharacters with very distinctive voices, voices I really didn’t think I couldemulate: both Ten and Donna in “Doctor Who”, Jack and Liz in “30 Rock” and,more recently, Gene Hunt in “Ashes to Ashes”. My particular trick for writingthese characters, for practicing their voices, was to write out the dialoguefirst then fill in everything else. Obviously this is only going to work forfics like this, this and this that rely heavily on banter. I love this kind offic. I love reading ‘em and I love writing ‘em. But even in fics which meldprose and dialogue, writing the dialogue out in isolation can help since theseaspects use slightly different writerly muscles.

4. Spellcheck is Your Friend: There will probablyalways be errors in your writing but do your best to avoid preventable andobvious mistakes. These can destroy your credibility as a narrator and takeyour reader out of your story. Personally, I am a compulsive editor. I wouldn’trecommend it. But I would recommend reading through your work at least once andrunning spellcheck before posting. Reading aloud can also help to identify anygrammatical errors or issues with flow. You can, if you find a friend willingto act as beta, outsource some of this work.

5.Don’t Be Afraid to Start Small: I’m a fan of theshort, self-contained fic. I’ve written lots of them and significant work must still go into making them work. So don’t aim to produce 25,000brilliant words right off the bat. Just 1-2,000 solid ones of which you can be proud.

6.Write What You Want: If you’re lucky, readerswill request fics of you (I have never been good at fulfilling these requests).If you’re unlucky, they’ll complain about directions you take or detail whythey refuse to read what you’ve written (this is pretty rare). But you can’t, Ibelieve, force inspiration. It’s either there or it’s not. For me, I beganwriting fanfic because there just wasn’t any for a pairing I shipped. So Iwrote it myself, for myself. I wrote what I liked and wanted to read (I stilldo). This is a medium in which fans have complete autonomy. They choose to go frompassive consumer to active creator. So just do what you do. Do whatever youwant. Turn back time. Bring people back from the dead. Unite lovers. Mergeworlds. Create characters. Make it sad, happy, dramatic or funny or both. You have the power. Claim it. Play with it. Revel init.

7. Start Strong and End Strong: You gotta have agood first line, in my theory of ff. That’s where it (literally) all begins. I always like to openwith something concise and intriguing that immediately communicates a little (butnot necessarily all) of what I’m planning to work with. Don’t be fooled intothinking you gotta start at the beginning. You don’t. You can enter the storyat any point. You can enter late – and leave early, as the saying goes. Thisis a screenwriting principle that ensures that only the most relevantinformation is included in a scene. It keeps the pace of a piece up, controlsthe dissemination of information and keeps audiences engaged. I think thisprinciple transfers rather easily to the page, especially since most of us areemulating material from the big or small screen. In order to imitate thesevisual mediums in written form, you might like to think of paragraphs, breaksand sentence structure as editing techniques that can guide the reader’s pace, growingperception and emotional experience.

8.Avoid Clichés: Clichés can occur at the level ofexpression, character or narrative. At the level of expression, these arewasted words that hold no meaning so find a fresh way to express what you mean.At the level of character, keep words, thoughts and actions rooted in thecharacter. “Show, Don’t Tell” is another well-known writing principle that can help maintain authenticity. As much as we may identify with certain characters, make judiciousdecisions about how much of yourself belongs in them. When writing intimaterelationships, less is often more. I know many shippers (myself included) spendyears sometimes LONGING for couples to express what they mean to each other,physically and/or verbally. By all means, let your beloved characters express –but not everything and not all at once, would be my advice. Allow them to maintainsome sense of mystery and sovereignty. At the level of narrative, clichés canactually work, especially if used with awareness. I had such fun writing a OneBed! fic for Jack and Liz, in which I paidtribute to some of the many reams of MSR fanfiction I had previously consumed.There were so many of these stories in that fandom that they became a categoryof their own, boasting a set of (increasingly ironic) conventions. Some fanfictraditions, it must be said, deserve to be embraced, extended and celebrated.

9. Read: Reading is the easiest way to absorbgrammar, to expose yourself to different writing styles and to become moreadept with language. So read books of all kinds. And read fanfic from your favefandoms. But read it actively, critically. Figure out what works and whatdoesn’t and why. Figure out what you enjoy, don’t and why. Apply theseinsights to your own writing and keep applying them. Keep improving. The more you read and write, the better you’ll get.

10. Avoid Comparisons: My best experiences of readingand writing fanfiction have been in strong, supportive communities. Generally,the more supportive the community has been, the more prolific I have been. These communitiesare wonderful spaces to inhabit, filled with peeps that love their shows,defend their ships and support their authors. Authors are always hungry forfeedback, and is it any wonder? Writing, creating and sharing takes work, love,thought and guts. You have to claim a little corner of a fandom and boldlystate that you have something to say that’s worth listening to. Sadly, you will probably never receive the same amount of energy back as you putin. This can lead to authors comparing their output and input, judging theirwork on its stats rather than on its merits. It can lead to them competing forthose few meagre reviews that roll in. This is partly why it is so important toreview fanfic, particularly fanfic you love and authors you read consistently.It’s part of encouraging and creating a sense of community in which people feeltheir voices are heard and their contributions valued. So be generous with others. Encourage and share. Read, review, reblog.Treat your fellow writers as your community, not your competition. Viewfanfic as a labor of love, an act of generosity that sometimes gives back. And if you don’t get the response you wishfor then make sure you hit that internal heart button and give yourself somekudos for trying, for creating, for loving something and letting it show.

Good luck. :)

#fanfic #asks

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