So ... I cleared Violet main story

thankfully I'd already known about the twist and the gist of what's awaiting, still didn't stop me from sobbing like a baby starting with the final battle and all the way through the credits :")

02/24/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast&CrewSightings; Samba BTS; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Damien Gerard; Guz Khan!; SaveOFMD Crew Billboard; AdoptOurCrew Saturday Sillies; Making A Difference; Articles; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika;

Been a long Saturday yall. Hope you enjoyed the BTS and general clown/honking going around!

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= Samba Schutte Feat. David Jenkins! =

Samba's back with more BTS for us today!

This time the Crew Shoutout is for Chaos Dad himself: David Jenkins! So good to see Chaos dad having such a great time BTS. We love you David!

Videos on Tumblr:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys decided to take it up a notch today on his Tiktok/Instagram and tell... someone they've created a monster. Who might that be?

== Damien Gerard ==

Our crew-mate @patchworkpiratebear got a Cameo from our lovely Father-Teach, Damien Gerard! There's a bit of a story behind it, see below! Cameo link

== Guz Khan! ==

Hey! It's been a hot minute since we've seen our friend Guz Khan-- and now he's showed up on a cat! Good to see you sir!

== Save OFMD Crew ==

There have been questions raised about the billboard that the SaveOFMD Crew have been posting teasers for on their socials. The Crew had a meeting today wherein they discussed the concerns of the fandom, and have taken that feedback to heart. They are currently working on a clear information packet regarding the logistics of the current billboard efforts. They have kindly asked for your patience while they finish putting those last touches together!

== @adoptourcrew Saturday Sillies! ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew were kind enough to set up a new Saturday Sillies this week! This time they made custom OFMD Wordles! There were WAY too many images to include in the recap, so if you'd like to check them out, please visit the tumblr post below!

Wanna play? You can visit a tumblr post here

== Making a Difference! ==

Thank you to everyone who contributed to, or shared the fundraiser for Trans Pride Brighton! They've finally met their goal and can stay open another year! You made a serious difference in the lives of trans and non-binary folk in that community!

== Articles ==

Deze HBO-serie is gecanceld, maar had een 95% op Rotten Tomatoes

Schwule Romanze zwischen Piratenkapitänen

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. I hope you had a fun Saturday/Sunday wherever you are. I know some of you are already closing out the weekend. We made it through another day-- and there's all sorts of action going on across all the platforms. I hope you got a chance to have fun, but also to rest. I know you know this, but even though I do too I often forget it. Rest is so very important. It's so easy to burn out, especially when we're constantly exposed to so much online. I think to myself "oh it's fine I'll just get a few more things done" and then it's suddenly 3 hours later and I've had only 4 hrs sleep in the last 30. Please please please give yourself self care today. Go brush your teeth, or take a shower. If you feel like you can do more, brush your hair, or make yourself a nice cup of tea. Do something for you that makes you relax and feel rested. On your last day of the weekend, make sure to take a few moments to yourself and just remember how awesome you are. You may not feel like it sometimes, but I can tell you now you truly are Awe-some. You bring so much life and love to this world and you deserve all beautiful things you want. Anyway, I'm very sleepy and I'm rambling again (what's new). Sleep well and enjoy your day lovelies, see you tomorrow.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

I'm being lazy tonight again yall. Just two goofy gifs that caught my eye, sorry I am running on fumes. Tomorrow I'll try to find some themed ones for ya <3

Rhys Gif: Courtesy of @fandomsmeantheworldtome

Taika Gif: ohnotheydidnt.livejournal

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I LOVE LUCK

First of all pairing Gaz with Luck was genius

But the way you told the story??????

Luck being so enamoured for Gaz that they would risk everything and rationalising it as their selfish demon nature even as every act of luck they perform is above and beyond

I know that all the demons are slightly yandere-esque stories but the way Luck is besotted with this man gives the vibes of those cheesy supernatural media where the fem mc has a bad boy swooning over her that would burn the world down for her - except Gaz is the mc!!!!

It's perfect! Let him be a damsel!!!!

Idk how much he knows about Luck's influence BC he's not stupid and once he knows their powers there's only so much "oh whoops looks like they have bad aim" you can rationalise away, he might not know exactly when he started getting more luck tho if (from how you described it) the powers of the universe seem to let him absorb the natural well of luck that exists.

It might be harder for him to pinpoint exactly when if Luck is the type to take credit for stuff just for the possibility of praise and attention - which they clearly adore coming from him. "A miracle - your heart swells, that's you!" And "he jokes about a lucky streak and you beam with pride"

I just wanna make him my baby girl. I wanna protect him, let him give me his little neck tie thing like a Princess gives her Knight a favour

I truly love the demon au bc it somewhat feels like a role reversal from the fae au where now the characters are the darlings

(also I think I've sent asks before as myself or as anon I can't remember but Tumblr likes to eat my asks for some reason)

Gaz as the damsel lmao yeah kinda. Gaz gets a demon handbook, and reads it, but I don't think he fully understands how Luck's powers work... Luck isn't hiding from him, let's be clear on that, but it's very much the sort of vibe of "luck isn't really a power, I'm not trying to win the lottery" while Gaz figures out how to make Luck useful.

Anyway here's Luck performing some truly spectacular magical luck and Gaz trying to explain it away because he's not supposed to tell people he has a demon looking out for him.

Little things are easy, you don't really need to exert any energy for them. An enemy comes around a corner before Gaz can spot them and you make their gun jam before they can take a shot. Someone throws a knife at Gaz, you make sure it flies over his shoulder and lodges into another AQ's head. Extra bullets in a mag, extra mags in the rubble when he's running low, passwords on paper next to computers, unlocked doors, keys left in cars. All of it is lucky, but nothing spectacular. Nothing combat worthy. Then again you're not technically a combat demon.

"Certainly make life easier," Gaz mumbles as he slinks through the tunnels under the city.

"I know, but-" You're picking up bad habits, draping yourself over his shoulder as he moves, "-I guess I just want to give you a miracle, y'know."

"You've given me plenty already," He tells you. You suppose you have, but nothing that deserves any praise. You want him to tell you, you did something spectacular. Not that you can tell him. It's already heaven enough being able to sit and talk to him like this, you don't want to taint it with false compliments.

You sigh and content yourself with just touching him, something you never could've enjoyed before. Every breath he takes is a small reward for your work. You could never regret contracting yourself to him, not when he's so warm and sturdy under you.

"Tell me about that book you've been reading," Gaz whispers when you've been silent too long. You smile, and duck your head against his shoulder, shy even though you know he can't see you.

"You'd like it," You tell him, murmuring the most recent plot points you've read until you see him smile in the low light. You like how well Gaz seems to have adjusted to you, you hope that means he likes you too.

He holds up a hand and you quiet down, sinking into the shadows so he has full range of movement. You can hear the buzz of radio in his ear. He and Soap are supposed to be sweeping the city for weapons caches, sabotaging what they can before they meet in the middle. So far Gaz has been lucky enough to destroy the caches he's found without being detected. More easy luck, nothing worth kicking up a fuss over.

Gaz keeps his gun at the ready as he goes up a flight on concrete stairs. Back to the fresh air of the city. The night is thick with dark silence.

You're starting to get a little itchy, things are going almost too well. You've been keeping enemy combatants away from Gaz, eager to not have a repeat of the IED that bound your contract. You think it's starting to make him a little nervous, because he lets out a held breath when he spots Soap. It's a short reunion, a solid bump of knuckles between the two men.

"Easy," Soap tells him, "Barely saw a soul."

You frown, you don't like the sound of that. That was supposed to be your luck. Unless those caches were meant to be found. A spotlight clicks on, marking Soap and Gaz's position. Around them guns raise, and safeties flip off.

They both freeze, surrounded and in open air. It's lucky they haven't been shot yet. Must be looking to use them for intel. Soap swears under his breath. Gaz grits his teeth, you can see his jaw clench tight. Overhead a helicopter hovers, the spotlight on the back focused on the two sergeants, keeping them visible.

You feel yourself tremble a little, such a clear and serious threat to Gaz's life making you uneasy. You're really not used to combat, it's unfamiliar to you, a thing you used to watch with no dreams to ever experience it yourself. You don't know what to do, all you know is that you have to protect Gaz. You can't shoot knives out of the shadows, or remove organs with surgical precision, you can't do anything that would make you useful to a soldier. What you are though, is lucky. Miraculously so.

One of the enemy's guns misfires, knocking them off balance. They bump into another combatant, who's itchy finger pulls the trigger on an automatic that swings its spray of bullets skyward. Gaz glances up and watches a few stray bullets hit the helo with precision aim he wouldn't even dream up. Making the hovering chopper smoke and spin out, crashing into a church steeple.

The helo explodes, the noise loud enough to draw the attention of the men who still have their aim on him and Soap. Suddenly, miraculously, the blades of the helicopter fly from the explosion and spin towards the AQ agents. Gaz grabs Soap to duck just as the blades chop off the head of every man still standing.

"Steamin' hell," Soap breathes, as the blades thunk into a wall and stick there.

"That was-"

"A fuckin' miracle." Soap finishes for him, standing back to his full height.

"Luck," Gaz grins, "You are a fuckin' wonder." You preen as he glances down at his excitedly bubbling shadow. You can't help the little popping hearts that rise to the surface, quick bursts of your affection before you can rein it in. He presses his fingers to his lips, then to the dark shadows at his feet before standing.

"No one is going to believe this," Soap looks around at the carnage, blissfully(luckily) ignorant of the demonic activity at Gaz's feet, "Shit I don't even believe it."

"Gonna be a hell of a report," Gaz tells him. He glances around the scene as Soap radios position back to Price. The absolute absurdity of the entire situation making him laugh a little. "Bloody hell," He shakes his head, lets out another bark of laughter, "How'd you even manage this love?"

"Just lucky I guess," You mumble, trying to keep from blowing out every light on the block in your excitement. Love... You could scream.

Hi there my pal my buddy!!! It's ya boi anon again here! ✨

I was wondering if I can go for a cat cafe visit with your local businessman scammer ✨Sampo Koski✨ on my hands, oh and also I has slight anger issues slash denial /that I have crush for Sampo/ attitude when going with him /ᐠ - ˕ -マ/ oh we gone there to play with both orange Himalayan and Abyssinian cat, ended our time with drinking hot cocoa!! 😋 ((I HOPE I WRITE IT RIGHT 😭😭😭))

I think that's all, congratulations for your 500+ followers once again (you deserve that and more ngl!!💕) and thank you so much in advance!

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ not quite so slick

⊹ character(s) - sampo koski ⊹ word count - 1.0k ⊹ notes - gn!reader, fluff, silvermane guard!reader, belobog story spoilers, sampo being his dumb silly self as usual, sad pathetic pining on his end we love him here

⊹ katze's 500 follower writing cat-baret

HII!!! thank you for the sweet ask omg <3!!! you wrote it correct dw!! yes our favorite businessman def not a scammer....... huhu Σ(;Φ ω Φ) I hope you enjoy your "cat cafe date" with mr cold feet, mr koski himself !!!

Ever since the order to seal off the Underworld had been rescinded, your job had gotten a lot more hectic.

Well, that's not to say you were alone in that. Many of your fellow guards had been made to take on more work to pick up the slack after the crisis, and you were all spread thin.

However, Supreme Guardian Bronya had deigned to send you to the Underworld, of all places.

And a certain blue-haired "merchant" could not be happier about your newfound assignment.

"Well, isn't this just peachy! If it's any Silvermane Guard down here, I'd want it to be you, Y/N!"

"Enough with the flattery. I'm on shift, Sampo."

"Oh, come on, now! When do we get the opportunity to spend some quality time together like this? When the order was initially given, I was heartbroken—"

"Sampo, you were able to come to the Overworld anyways!"

"Doesn't change my feelings, my dear! I missed seeing your sweet face, and..."

You were forced to sit through hours of the infamous Mr. Koski buzzing around you.

Even when you changed positions, moving from one end of Boulder Town to the next to keep watch, the man followed you like a puppy, eager to talk your ear off and aggravate you to death.

Of course, this is just how he was. Schmoozing up to anyone he could, trying to avoid culpability for some scam or another that he ran only a few hours (and sometimes even minutes) prior.

And clearly, he was beginning to think of you as an easy mark. You silently considered making it clear that you were far from it.

But when you bumped into Natasha of Wildfire, she seemed to have a different idea on why Sampo was so insistent on staying by your side.

"He's quite obvious, isn't he?"

The lovely woman chuckled, folding her arms over her chest as she watched Sampo scamper off after another verbal lashing from you.

You knew who she was, and you were thankful of her efforts in the Underworld. However, without being properly acquainted and only knowing each other's names, you were still wary. You turned your eyes onto her, assessing her intent in approaching you before speaking up yourself.

"Yes, as much as he loves touting his skills in his trade, I fear that it's all too clear when he's trying to worm his way out of something."

The surprise on Natasha's face caught you off guard.

"...What?"

"Oh, my apologies. I just thought you knew."

"Knew? Knew what?"

The woman giggled, stifling it with a polite hand over her lips.

"Dear, he's quite smitten with you."

As much as you wanted to scoff at your words—and truthfully, a huff of disbelief did leave you—the sudden confession made you turn red as a cherry.

"That's ridiculous. He's like that with everyone he's trying to wring dry of money. Or with every Silvermane Guard. I'm no exception, he just thinks I'm easy."

Natasha smiled, clicking her tongue.

"Y/N of the guards, right?" You nodded. "I'd be remiss to not tell you the full truth, but I've never heard Sampo Koski rave about anyone as much as you. When he mentions other guards or people he's flattered, he's always very lackadaisical, if he even mentions them at all. Trust me, he has eyes for you."

You paused.

Then, you started walking away, as speedily as you could without seeming hasty.

"Y/N?"

"I-I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! If that really is true, then I'm telling him to fix his delusions this instant! Good day, Natasha!"

The woman only laughed, shaking her head and turning back to head into her clinic.

When you finally found Sampo after a few minutes of searching (truthfully, you had noticed the way you could find him quicker than any other, despite the fact that he evaded the other guards so well), he was whistling a tune, holding a bouquet in his left hand.

Right. Now that trade had opened back up between the upper and lower portions of Belobog...

You shook your head, stomping up behind the man. He turned to meet you, emerald eyes sparkling.

"Heeey, Y/N! I was just about to come find you again! So, guess what I got for y—"

"Is it true?"

His unflappable grin faltered, and he tilted his head, chuckling nervously—almost in the same way he did when a client was getting cross, but not quite.

"W-Whaddya mean? Did my favorite Silvermane Guard get some weird hearsay put into their pretty little hea—"

"I spoke with Natasha. So, is it true?"

Sampo stopped in his tracks, the barest hint of pink seeping into his cheeks as he laughed anxiously.

However, he didn't miss the way your eyes hardened, how your fist clenched as though anticipating a negative response.

He swallowed thickly.

"U-Uhm, I mean, not that I know what you're talking about exactly, but, uh—" Your brow furrowed, and Sampo rushed out his remaining sentence. "If it's what I'm thinking of, and that could be many different things—"

"Koski!"

"Yes, it's true!"

You both stood in silence, until the blue-haired con artist began rambling away.

"I thought, 'Hey, Sampo Koski is a subtle guy! Maybe that subtlety would be lost on a lovely guard like Y/N, and he oughta put his best foot forward in being upfront and obvious!' But then, you weren't quite picking up what your old friend Sampo was putting down, and—"

"Sampo Koski."

He hadn't even noticed you approach, standing right before him as he endlessly jabbered.

"Well, Miss Nat told me to go ahead and be 'forward and open', but you know I'm not that type of guy, haha, and—well, ah..."

He looked down at you, dangerously close to his face. His smile became lopsided with nerves.

"And... and, um... Would you..." The man clasped his hands together, expression turning sheepish. That slight flush in his cheeks had spread across his face.

"Would you hit me if I kissed you?"

"I might if you don't."

And before he could say another word, your lips were pressed firmly against his.

~Lucifer blanches. He looks around, as if trying to find a sense of Alastor’s words somewhere in the trash-heap he calls a room, before rounding back to him, lips pulling up in disgust. “Are you asking me out?”

“Ahaha!” Alastor laughs, slapping him so hard on the back it nearly takes Lucifer off his feet. “Oh, Heavens no. I’m just proposing we let Hell continue thinking that you and I are,” he waves his hand, searching for the word, “in cahoots. In that way.”~

This is golden comedy right here. Honestly every time I read ur fic I always start wheezing so hard I can’t breathe, u are an amazing writer, hope u know that. When I saw ur last update on the ‘damage control’ chapter i was so excited i devoured it so fast help

Alastor saying he wants to be in ‘cahoots’ with Lucifer it’s so funny to me cause no one use that term anymore, and Lucifer is just downright dumbfounded that they are even having the conversation. I can imagine the shadow rolling his eyes at them, we need more sassy shadow moments, he is so underrated. 😭😭

I love that Lucifer is trying to respect Al boundaries, especially after the ‘incident’ , and doesn’t pry to much on his scars, but now I am curious about what did Al meant. Does he not remember who did that to him? 🥺

Also I am curious about what they gonna tell to the others about their new found relationship. I don’t think Lucifer would want to lie to Charlie, but I also think that it would be too risky to make the whole crew knew they are acting, someone might slip. And it’s not like Al is gonna make it easy for Lucy anyway. If they want to be credible, less ppl knowing it’s best course of action for me.

Last thing~ I really wanted to thank you, cause ur fic really brings me a lot of joy since I recently only been able to find happiness in small things like these , and I I can’t wait to read more🌈

Hehehe, Alastor purposefully refusing to go into depth about their "sexual relationship," and even side-stepping outright calling it a relationship, is what's going to make it all more entertaining when he actually has to commit to the bit. Cuz you see, they're not fucking. They're "in cahoots."

It's different.

(I love Alastor's Shadow being sassy. If it's attached to Alastor, it has to be. I take no critiques.)

😈 Alastor and his scars is something I'm very excited to get into it. I've been thinking about them for a while, and while it may take a bit to actually get the answer, I'm very eager to get there when we do.

The way I see it, Alastor doesn't want to tell the others (as they already know their not actually dating--as he made VERY clear last time), but Lucifer isn't going to be okay with lying to Charlie. Out of the group, Alastor knows he can trust Husk and Niffty to keep it a secret. Maybe Angel Dust too. But he's most worried about Charlie and Vaggie.

Vaggie isn't a good liar, and Charlie's such an open, bright, heart-on-her-sleeves person, he doesn't trust her to keep up the ruse without letting something slip--most likely by accident.

But Lucifer is stubborn. He doesn't want to lie to Charlie, and if he tells Charlie, Charlie is going to tell Vaggie. If Vaggie knows, well, we already know she has a hard time lying on the spot, so if the others see Alastor and Lucifer suddenly "in cahoots," and ask about it, she's not going to be able to come up with a plausible excuse on the fly.

This is all to say, the next installment is going to be full of silly Hazbin Crew hijinks, where Alastor is forcefully enrolled into Chaggies Dating 101 Crash Course, and he is definitely not setting the grading curve. (And maybe we'll even get a bit of HuskerDust thrown in there, who knows. Certainly not me).

And it warms me so much to know that my fic can bring you joy in a time that such things are scarce 🥺 I can't wait to share more of the story with you!

the whole cardigan/Peter parallels are messing my head can u explain

okay so peter is actually one of my favorite songs on the album for this reason! I think it has parallels to a lot of other songs, not just cardigan. the first thing to get out of the way is the cardigan lyric about peter and wendy: ‘tried to change the ending, peter losing wendy.’ now, that line doesn’t make a ton of sense because peter losing wendy is the ending of peter pan (idk I’ve never seen it and never thought I’d spend this long thinking about them), but I think what she’s saying is that he tried to change the ending of *their* story to peter losing wendy. peter loses her because she outgrows him, while he remains a ‘lost boy’ forever. the cardigan demo has an alternate lyric where peter actually *leaves* wendy. this does not happen in the original story, and to me, it reads like betty (eh, I don’t think those characters existed when she wrote that song, but bear with me) is accusing him of trying to change their fate by leaving her. peter is meant to always come back to wendy. *she* is the one who eventually leaves him. either way, cardigan ends with them together. yay for betty and/or taylor.

now, peter was written 3-4 years later, and it is the conclusion of a story about outgrowing someone despite truly wanting them back. the ending was not, in fact, changed. she did outgrow him. very sad. I actually want to go lyric by lyric, but I’ll put a cut just in case.

Forgive me Peter

My lost fearless leader

In closets like cedar

Preserved from when we were just kids

Is it something I did

the song starts with taylor trying to figure out what went wrong. did she do something wrong to crush these dreams of theirs? she kept him in a closet of cedar (where unmarried women kept their belongings that they would want to take with them after getting married) in her mind, but things didn’t work out anyway. the first line being ‘forgive me, peter’ indicates that she is the one who pulled the plug, and she’s apologizing for it. again, she isn’t entirely sure what went wrong, which, to me, is a clear parallel to how did it end.

The goddess of timing

Once found us beguiling

She said she was trying

Peter was she lying

My ribs get the feeling she did

when they first met, the timing seemed to be perfect for their relationship (‘the goddess of timing *once* found us beguiling’), but that didn’t last. the goddess of timing claimed that she tried, but nothing could save them. taylor even wonders if she lied, which suggests a lack of faith in higher powers like fate or deities. this verse introduces timing as a major conflict in the story. ‘are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these?’

Said you were gonna grow up

Then you were gonna come find me

Words from the mouths of babes

Promises, oceans deep

But never to keep

peter went away, but he promised to come down once he was ready for a relationship. yes, this kind of applies to both of the main storylines on the album. you could take this to mean that they actually broke up a decade ago but promised to get back together, or you could assume there was some sort of break to their relationship, which she and joe did have. i kind of took it to mean that he wasn’t fully committed to the relationship, but he promised to be eventually. again, the renegade lyric, but also ‘i’m a fire, and i’ll keep your brittle heart warm if your cascade ocean wave blues come’ and ‘I’d hold you as the water rushes in,’ both of which are grand promises that neither party could keep.

Are you still a mind reader?

A natural scene stealer

I've heard great things Peter

But life was always easier on you

Than it was on me

he is charismatic. his magnetic field is a little too strong. he can read people. but he’s also fragile and inexperienced (‘he was a hothouse flower to my outdoorsman’). he may be able to read people, but things have been way too easy for him to ever understand a truly hurt person fully.

And sometimes it gets me

When crossing your jet stream

We both did the best we could do underneath the same moon

In different galaxies

And I didn't want to hang around

We said it was just goodbye for now

this is the thesis statement of their relationship to me. obviously, there’s the call it what you want parallel, but more importantly, it shows that the two people really wanted this to work. they just came from completely different places in their lives and perhaps the entire universe. this verse seems to reference the epilogue (‘resentment rotting away galaxies we created’ / ‘some stars never align’). they learned the right steps to different dances, if you will. she knew he needed time, so she left temporarily.

And I won't confess that I waited

But I let the lamp burn

As the men masqueraded

I hoped you'd return

With your feet on the ground

Tell me all that you'd learned

Cause love's never lost when perspective is earned

she does get with other men, but she keeps longing for him. she wishes that he would return with a grasp on reality and be the man she needs. if anything, the time away would give him the perspective he needs to ground himself. interesting parallel to ‘I said I don’t mind / it takes time’ in loml.

And you said you'd come and get me but you were 25

And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired

Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life

Forgive me Peter, please know that I tried

To hold onto the days when you were mine

But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light

this is just devastating to me. well, first of all, both matty and joe were 25 when they first met her, which, lol. the dreams they had together have expired now. it’s been too long. she cannot keep holding onto a love from almost a decade ago. he took too long to return. he lost his lifelong dreams to what was only supposed to be a chapter of his life. she tried to hold onto the days when he was hers, and everything was right, but she had to turn out the light at some point. this is the moment when she gives up on their relationship. she apologizes for abandoning the ship, but she must do it.

overall, I think peter is a story about two people who genuinely did everything they could to be together, but their needs and their growth no longer aligned. there’s a sense of acceptance and lingering fondness here. she did everything she could not to bolt, but the ending was the same.

s2e2 here we goooooo. i have not found a better way to do this, so i'm doing it the same way.

once again, spoilers and uncharitable opinions and unfunny jokes.

So anyway, to do my minimal diligence in telling you what's going on, Kwan Ha shows up again at the end of episode 1 (she's the one Soren's kid has been sneaking off to and talking about monsters with).

Anyway.

Episode 2 already off to a bad start.

Halsey is somewhere talking to a girl named Julia, asking her about what she sees when she leaves this place (Julia doesn't say much) and about a man in charge.

Chips on the table: this is a Spartan-III and the man is Ackerson. I'm putting my bet down here.

Also, she gets a nose bleed and passes out so that's normal.

Then we have Kai talking to Riz and about her injury, and Riz insisting she's fine. Kai even suggests Riz put her pellet back to reduce the pain and Riz says:

Kai and John talk about how they kinda miss Halsey because at least she trusted them vs Ackerson.

I've mostly been distracted by this frame, though, because it has some Spartan names we haven't seen in it:

So we know there are at least 5 teams and they're using some old canon Spartan-II names.

Also, we've had it stated directly that it's been 6 months since the end of season 1. Which is a very short amount of time to have had multiple planets glassed, those campaigns each generally took months to fight out in the main canon.

What's important here, though, is that Cobalt team (mean jocks from earlier) are being put on standby while Chief knows they are still out on a mission and haven't come back yet, so he's getting upset.

We don't get any conclusion to this yet because it's time to jump.

Kwan is back, like I said.

I'm glad Kwan is back tbh because -- let's be clear, the show's bad and I felt like Kwan's subplot went fucking nowhere and didn't contribute much, which seems to have been a pretty common opinion. But if the show ejected the asian woman character just because that subplot was received poorly, it would've been much worse than having a weak subplot in the first place.

Kwan, as a survivor of Madrigal, is supposed to be in indentured servitude on the Rubble but she's gone on the run and is being tracked down by a guy with a scanner reacting to this fucking spike they put in her ear.

There's a chase scene, and she manages to rip out her ear tag and ditch her tail for a bit down in this trash compactor type zone, then she manages to space one of them and kills the other by stabbing him in the fucking head with her tag???

I think the implication we're supposed to pick up from the dialogue is that Kwan was accepted onto the station by Soren, but now that Soren's gone her indenture belongs to other (worse) pirates.

Meanwhile, this man (Louis) is suggesting that Riz take it easy and Riz, who has been beating a table with a sledge hammer, is taking that super well.

And there's physiotherapy.

Louis is a Spartan washout. He talks to Riz about how there can be more to life than being a Spartan, but Riz struggles with that and is clearly worried about being perceived as weak from the injury she got at the end of S1. She says some hard shit that she immediately walks back because Louis is an old friend and you can tell they care about each other. It's a million times better than the shit they did with Chief and Soren back in S1 and thank god.

Meanwhile, back at the hall of justice...

Chief is having a conflict with Ackerson about not clearing Silver team to go do missions because he thinks Chief's account of events at Sanctuary (the Covenant were already there before the glassing began, and they retreated from the fight with him) is suspect.

Ackerson tells him that the marine (Perez) doesn't corroborate his story and TV Chief shows character growth from last season by not manscreaming about it. Very proud of him.

I am kind of starting to enjoy Ackerson's nefarious shitweasel bit, it's more entertaining than a lot of what Halo TV makes me watch.

Laera (Soren's wife, I should use her name) confronts the crew of the ship that left when Soren got bagged. (I just don't care about Soren's subplot so I didn't bother to cap it, sorry.)

Meanwhile Kwan has an argument with Kessler (Soren's son) in the hidey hole they've been using as a hangout spot about the reality of the situation.

Did I mention Kwan has better hair this season? She does.

Anyway, then Silver Team is doing a training exercise. Riz is struggling. Also, they have her running SO FAST so you know that she's supposed to be the show's version of Kelly.

Also, we actually get some endearing Spartan interactions which are the only thing on this show that I truly like. (Vannak teases Riz about losing and brags about how he never loses, Kai and Riz are like ugh at him.)

Anyway, I'm out of images again. See you soon.

Yeah I'm still confused about Tommy's involvement in this storyline. (Also it doesn't help that I don't vibe with his character at all) Yes it started the Bi Buck story, but at the same time the whole relationship (if we can call it relationship yet) as been super rush. It just feels like they are trying to shove so many elements at the same time which doesn't give people time to see a connection developing.

Also I think what doesn't help me is that all the interview/cameo have been confusing me. It seems like Lou is there for an arc, but I have seen people saying that since the official Instagram follow him and that Oliver seem interested to continue to have Tommy there, he will be there for the whole season. (That interview where he could stay as a friend) Also saying that Tim was still writing that last 3 episode that it could change. I mean I'm pretty sure Tim as a vague ideas of where the major point of is story will go. If he does change it last second to include more Tommy then that will be pissed me off especially knowing that he was brought for an Eddie storyline in the beginning.

I hope he's gone soon. I was hoping episode 6, but it could be episode 7. This is a short season and I don't want them to to spend to much time on side character.

i don't know what to think anymore, but I think what doesn't help is how some part of the fandom try to make you feel guilty that you can't accept this new ship. I have been on a blocking spree and it feels great, but it hasn't be easy.

Sorry that was long, but just wanted to vent a bit and tell you I like some of your takes.

Exactly! Everything between Buck and Tommy is rushed and doesn't feel organic at all. It's a frustrating storyline for so many of us, because it just doesn't deliver on the romance. It's boring and dull and kinda just falls flat.

That's why I've got the strong suspicion that Tommy is only there to serve the narrative of Buck coming out as bisexual. He is a plot device to uncover this hidden side of Buck, but it doesn't make any kind of sense in the long run. 911 has been telling the Buck and Eddie story for so many seasons now. It feels organic and natural. There is a build-up and so much history between them. So why not use Eddie to give Buck his bisexual oh-moment? Simple, Buck needed to realise he was bisexual first. That way they can write a slow realisation of feelings for Eddie. Feelings that have always been there. Also, Eddie is still with Marisol at the moment. Any feelings reveal at this point would be so messy. This ship deserves better than this.

As for those interviews and cameos. Oliver always seems to rehash the same things: vague Tommy references and how he wants them to stay friends afterwards (which doesn't bode well for their romance), the kiss felt the same as a kiss with a woman, he is so damn proud to be able to play a bisexual man (GO Oliver! I love him for that!), if Buddie were to go romantic he would be open for it. He never really interacts with Lou directly or shares a lot of Tommy or bucktommy pictures. He just vibes with the fact that he is proud to play a bisexual character. Which... good for him!

As for Lou? He is all over the place. I like the guy, but he is very chaotic. But overall he has been pretty clear that he's only there for a little while. He is also still involved in other shows, so he won't have time to fully commit to 911 anyway. Next to that, even he has mentioned Buddie in his interviews and cameos. I mean... the fact that it was also pitched for him to be with Eddie? Yeah, Tommy is a plot device alright. It is always possible that Tim will try to milk Lou's popularity by extending his stay for a couple of more episodes, but overall I'm not too worried about his staying too long.

I know Tim is still writing some episodes of S7, but the main storylines are already set in stone by now. It's only the details and how to get from point A to B that still have to be worked out. I'd like to think that they wouldn't just change main storylines at the drop of a hat like that. Tim isn't always truthful when it comes to his comments on 911.

Okay, this is for everyone who needs to hear it:

Don't feel guilty for not vibing with a character or a ship!

Don't listen to haters who try to make you feel guilty about it. But also don't go out there to make other people feel guilty about shipping bucktommy. We all like what we like. All you can do is block haters and filter out the tags you don't want to see. Also, surround yourself with people who think alike. Trust me, there's a lot of us out there.

Lastly, I decidedly don't vibe with Tommy or bucktommy. I don't see any chemistry between them. But I also need to accept that this is where the storyline is right now. We have no other choice then to follow the narrative and hope it leads to something more interesting, like Buddie. We'll just have to wait and see and hope that the show is smart enough to follow the chemistry between Buck and Eddie, and not let themselves be swayed by the superficial and temporary popularity of one guest character.

Don't worry about venting here. I don't mind. These are trying times in the Buddie-fandom and we all need to let it out once in a while.

Okay this is like the third one I've sent in cause I just keep asking stuff because I discover more things you require for your asks and I'm not trying to make your life any harder than it probably is with all these request.

Anyway, I usually hate the "outsiders X YN" propaganda but I was super curious soo

I'm a female. I'm 5'6 with curly brown hair, I'm Caucasian, I have hazel eyes.

I prefer to go unlabeled. I like girls and guys. Doesn't matter to me.

I'm an infp-t, I have OCD, I'm super sarcastic all the time even when. I don't intend to be. People assume I'm mean whenever they meet me but usually that changes over time. My love language(Offering love) is acts of service but I don't care about what type I receive. I speak in a very monotone fashion sometimes which again leads people to believe I may be mean or negative but I'm very extroverted. I'm opinionative and sociable. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at holding a conversation because I love learning about other people's views and taking their comments into consideration. I also try to give people really in-depth and earnest compliments because I don't think anyone gets enough of those. I also love to give gifts and to give advice. I love having really long, genuine conversations. I love literature and writing and collecting poems and quotes. I love exploring new music genres. I'm pretty spontaneous, and spontaneity is something I value a lot in a partner.

I also value humor a lot. I'm an avoidant person but I go out of my way to show or tell people I care when I can. I, again, love writing. I love writing stories, ideas, concepts. It's all fun to me. Im a middle child. I also cook a lot and care a lot for people around me. Im also fairly empathetic sometimes, even when I don't need to be. It's hard for me to ask what I want. I'm also like disgustingly self-aware. Like I mean I just know when my actions are weird or embarrassing. I know the possible outcomes of things before I do them. Idk. I can see myself from a clear outside perspective. Im also really reflective of body language/words/actions and stuff. It's easy for me to pick up and read someone. Chronic over-thinker as well. I also have the teeniest but of social anxiety(but I'm comfortable with speaking on a stage and stuff?? Idk it's complicated.)

My mantra is that you'll never get to do the same thing twice, why not do it now? What will you really lose?

I'm very self-depricating. Woops. Uhh and idk. I don't have any specifics for any partner. I like all sorts of people I'm not picky.

Please lmk what you think 🤗

I’m so sorry first lol for making you repeat so many times. I just prefer to have as much information as possible to give you the most accurate answer and also some people didn’t include their sexualities the first time and then I messed up because I paired them with a person they weren’t interested in and then they I had to redo their entire ask because you know they were like oh I’m gay could you not be shipping me with a girl and I was like well you didn’t put that in your request so I have no idea. So thanks for tolerating that.

Your Outsiders Ship: Sodapop Curtis

(I could see you with Marcia too 😊 but I don’t know enough about her character to do a full analysis)

Explanation: starting off with looks, I think that he would be extremely attracted to you. I think that he personally finds brown eyes and hair to be absolutely stunning and just loves the way that they remind him of the hot cocoa constantly consumes in the morning when Darry has his coffee and Ponyboy has tea. You’re shorter than him, but not too short and I think that he appreciates that because it means that you don’t have to reach up on your tippy toes to kiss him, but you can also just you know he’s you’re still short enough for him to tease you about it a lot which he definitely would. I think you guys kind of have an opposite attract thing going on like I think one of the things that really stood out about you was your sarcastic personality to him and I think he really appreciated it and your brutal honesty was really different from other girls he’d interacted with, and I just think that he would be extremely attracted to that. he had a really hard time using his charm on you. I think he’s one of the few people that sees past the oh you’re probably a mean person type of thing because I feel like he’s is a very big believer in you know second chances you don’t know that person that well they could be going through something type of ideology and I think as the people pleaser he is, he would definitely give you multiple chances and I mean, even if Steve was kind of like dude she seems kind of mean sodapop would instantly be at your side defending you. seriously he has golden retriever energy, and you have black cat energy all the way and I just think you’re dynamic would be pretty cute together. I feel like he would help you out a little bit with your social skills too and help you to be a little bit more friendly to people if you ever had an issue with that he would also always defend you with people didn’t get you the way that you talked or you know things like that. I think you could also balance him out with your opinionated Ness because I feel like a lot of his life. Sodapop is always felt kind of pressure to fit in with everyone else and go with their opinions because I headcanon personally that he’s a chronic people pleaser and really wants to just make people happy and I feel like you’re argumentative personality would definitely clash with that in such an interesting and good way. I just think you guys would fundamentally help each other and, be a good pairing because you would always be working on improving each other and not only through social skills either. Soda pop doesn’t get poetry that much but I feel like he would absolutely support you or if you ever found something that seemed kind of poetic he would definitely give it to you and he would absolutely melt if you gave him an in-depth complement or did something really nice for him because you also mentioned active service was another one of your love languages I think he would just melt. He’s the middle sibling so he’s used to being ignored and whenever you have your full attention on him he just feels like he’s floating. He feels like you’re one of the few people who see beyond the “ hot Curtis sibling” and see him as a person because he is. he’s also incredibly spontaneous so you’re in luck for that aspect of your relationship. I think he is probably one of the most if not the most spontaneous out of the greasers and just I think he’s willing to do random things because I mean, I don’t know. I just think he kind of enjoys the chaos plus he’s a pretty like chaotic a great partner to have I think like not chaotic bad but more chaotic like I enjoy making life interesting type of thing. I also feel like he would love the fact that you write because it reminds him a lot of pony boy and I think he would definitely just love it and stand next to you while you write and ask 1 million questions and end up kind of annoying you, but it would be cute.

Also, also, I feel like you guys would totally bond over being the middle sibling because I mean no one can really no one really gets the experience unless they’ve actually been in the situation of being the middle child and I feel like once he finds out that you’ve been a middle sibling before he can’t wait to talk about all the relatable shit with you and I just yeah, I feel like that would be one of your main bonding subjects that you guys first realize you had something in common. Also, he is also someone who values humor a lot and I feel like you guys would have a super fun time making jokes together and just laughing and enjoying life in general he’s a person that is literally described as not needing alcohol or cigarettes or anything like that to enjoy life, he just takes it by the hands and really knows how to live and I feel like that’s something that you really really need to have a good sense of humor besides being able to laugh at yourself and he absolutely has that. Also good luck with this man in the kitchen because it is just going to end up in a flower fight and you will not get any cooking whatsoever and if you do, it’s gonna be something weird as shit because he snuck food coloring into the dough or something like that. He really loves yourself awareness because he’s often had partners who aren’t so self-aware and are kind of oblivious to what their actions do and don’t know a lot about themselves and why they act certain ways so he really values that in a partner and I feel like that’s something you could fulfill and you could help him be more self-aware too, so he’s definitely glad that’s a trait you have. Also for your anxiety I feel like he can help a lot with that. He’s kind of a more carefree guy. I don’t feel like he has anxiety too bad and he has a pretty good coping system, but I feel like he would be excellent at you know spotting whenever you’re having a panic attack helping you get over a panic attack helping you remember to meditate for 10 minutes daily things like that I feel like he would be a super helpful person to be dating if you have extreme anxiety or if you’re an overthinking person. Anyway this is cute I ship it!! 💚💚

Are Sebastian and Alex going to learn about bdsm and safe practices/negotiation? Or do they keep fumbling around and doing what they're doing?

Hi anon,

People who learn about BDSM don't necessarily practice safe practices or negotiation.

And there are elements of negotiation in this story! It's not a black and white 'they're not doing this in a paint-by-numbers sort of way and therefore it doesn't count' situation, y'know?

They are two characters in their mid-20s who live in a tiny town, one of those characters is dyslexic to the point that he can barely read, and the other's method of doing things has worked for him all his life (or so he thinks), they don't have any reason/s to learn about BDSM, and it's not likely that either of them ever will.

That also doesn't mean that they can't enjoy their kinky sex life.

There has been a lot of discussion already, and there will be more and more going forwards. It might not be at the level most people want, but Sebastian has certainly obtained consent (more than once), offered and then insisted on debriefs and post-sex discussion, explained to Alex how to communicate if he hates something, and made it clear that what he likes is unusual and sadistic in nature. It's also clear that Alex likes being pushed, i.e. - not being forced to give consent in every circumstance when someone can take control and give him what he wants anyway. That's actually pretty common in some people with a child abuse background who become people pleasers.

If you want negotiation + safe practices at a certain level, you'd have to completely remake Alex's character into someone who can magically be a functional, communicative, healthy human being, and he's not that. Alex is getting better at communicating (that's how we go this far in the story in the first place), but if you expect this story to end on Alex being a perfect human who can do Instagram-level kink negotiation, then no, this isn't the story you want, anon.

If you look deeper and don't expect cookie cutter kinds of dialogue, there has been ongoing negotiation in the story since the early chapters. When Alex makes it clear through physical response and then verbal that he doesn't like yelling, Sebastian stops yelling. When Sebastian makes it clear that he has complicated feelings about hiring his ex-school bully as a cleaner, Alex makes it clear that he doesn't share those complicated feelings, especially in light of the pay rate. Sebastian consenting to Alex being his cleaner makes it clear that those terms are acceptable to him.

When Alex tries to undervalue himself, Sebastian makes it clear that he's not comfortable paying someone less simply because they value themselves less. When Alex then takes that pay, it's a form of consent to Sebastian's attitudes. Their relationship has been an ongoing negotiation since the beginning, and that's how they've grown closer. If you're used to only looking for very obvious signs of negotiation, it might be easy to miss the non-verbal and subtle forms of negotiation that are happening.

For example, it might not seem like it, but Sebastian - many chapters ago now - talking about how he likes control in the bedroom and that turning Alex on long before they'd ever shared anything sexual together, is a form of communication. Alex learns he likes the idea of it without it ever been forced on him, and Sebastian wouldn't have that conversation with someone he didn't trust (for example, Alex in the beginning of the story). They had to have trust to have that conversation, Alex had to have trust to ask Sebastian questions about it in the oblique way he did, and they had to share a common comfortability have a conversation in that direction in the first place.

In A Stain that Won't Dissolve, these things don't look like a psychologist's version of: 'Okay, what do you want, and this is what I want, and here's where we meet in the middle' - a lot of life doesn't look like this (but if you want that, I've written that in Falling Falling Stars - it still has dubious consent though, lol). Both Alex and Sebastian have poor communication on their side, and it's a growth story for the two of them.

But no, I have no intention of Sebastian ever learning terms like 'subspace' or 'RACK' or anything like that. A lot of people in the world, especially prior to easy access to the internet, figured this stuff out on their own and many of them made it work even without the rigid or codified structures of the world of BDSM (and some of those people went on to invent the world of BDSM that we take for granted today).

It's the kinks that make you kinky, not the knowledge of an acronym or the world it engenders.

There's also no reason to think that Sebastian has access to a healthy education about BDSM there, it's not like Elliott was practicing much healthy BDSM in my other Stardew fic, The Wind that Cuts the Night, :D Elliott knew all about safe practices, negotiation, and BDSM, and chose to ignore a lot of the safe stuff over messing around more dangerously.

The fumbling around is the point, basically. Growing up is messy, and dubious consent is hot (for some of us), and there are many ways we communicate with the people around us, especially when it's two guys in a town the valourises machismo and stoicism over emotional openness, and one of those guys was beaten by his father over not being macho and strong enough which makes him exceptionally resistant to communicating clearly even about basic subjects and needs.

That's the part I actually really love about this story.

So I recently watched Hamilton for the first time on screen. The first time I saw it was actually in person, and tbh I don't recommend it, because I couldn't parse all the lyrics in the moment and couldn't see the choreography and expressions. It's actually an extremely good musical and story?? The music itself is very good and the character arcs are really, really well-plotted and anyway I get the hype more now. I've spent the last few weeks reading a fuckton of old fic, it's been fun and I've enjoyed it.

And I have SO many thoughts about Hamilton and about history and fandom and stuff >:3

Here's my mini-outline for this post:

>my understanding of historical realities

>how that relates to the choices made to frame Hamilton the way it's framed

>how that relates to the modern fandom

>sidetrack into fic that's about reincarnation and some technical problems with that

>fic idea that I'll never ever write

1. My understanding of Hamilton, the actual historical figure, is that he, like the rest of the founding fathers, was not incidentally or casually supporting slavery and other kinds of injustice. That was the POINT of the Revolution. I am so, so so very far from an expert, but I did take this really interesting class that talked about how there were essentially three parties in the American Revolutionary War: there were rich British people, there were rich American people, and there were poor American people. And the rich American people won.

My understanding of the reason for the infamous debt plan is BECAUSE it basically allowed rich people to be the creditors and collect interest, maintaining a social order in which rich people stayed rich and poor people stayed poor. Like, look at it this way: rich people lend money to the American government, poor people are taxed and therefore pay the interest on those loans, keeping them poor; rich people become invested in the success of the government, staying in power in the government, making money off poor people. It's very clever! It's also not something that I personally find admirable. 2.

I think that it is FASCINATING to look at how successful Hamilton has been. To be clear: I really enjoy the story, I find it incredibly well written and just fun. And I think part of the reason I find it easy to love is because it is in many ways about white people, telling familiar stories.

It's a story featuring actors of color, and it SAYS things about and to the experiences of people of color. But it's in large part a story about historical rich white people. I have done no research, but the only line I can think of offhand that's even directly to a historical person of color is Jefferson going “Sally be a dear put my bag down” once. She doesn't get a line, if I'm remembering correctly, just nods.

In some ways, Hamilton kind of feels like it says, “Look, people of color can have the same kind of stories that rich white people can have!” (which, to be clear, I would LIKE to be more of a thing.) To be even more ungenerous, it feels in some ways like that age-old tradition of rich people escaping the stigma of being rich by pretending they're poor, or white people in blackface. Like, sure, we'll have characters of color, but only if they're telling white stories. Only if whiteness is still centered.

And, of course, it's very much a story about social advancement and a person who starts out poor becoming rich, which is another beloved archetype that is increasingly impossible in the real world. You get to see the same capitalist story of “poor person pulling himself up by his bootstraps” but with trappings of liberal progressiveness.

Which is an excellent recipe for success, because it removes some of the stigma of enjoying that kind of story, and also genuinely allows people of color to relate in real ways to a story that historically DOES NOT make room for them in that way. Hits a lot of audiences.

I do not think Hamilton would have been commercially successful if it was about Sally Heming's story. And I don't think most audiences would enjoy it as much, because the story of “this person was personally impacted by injustice for their entire life and was not able to escape it in a big dramatic scene” is not really as easy to watch? Like stories of resilience can be so, so impactful, but. I do not think they're as fun or compelling as “this person pulled themself up and changed everything!” for me personally, most of the time. 3.

The fandom absolutely echoes all that nonsense, because fandom also centers whiteness, like, almost exclusively – at least the fandoms I've been in, and I admit that's probably in part because my tendency is 100% to center white rich voices and to enjoy those familiar stories. But it's also like... not hard to find those stories, even if it weren't my tendency. I trip over them; I don't have to try. It's way harder to find stories that don't center whiteness.

And I wonder for myself, like, what do I do about that? There's books and stories out there about Sally Hemings, I'm sure, but I haven't read them, and I don't really want to. I like the fantasy world of fandom where Alexander Hamilton is a 20-something extremely liberal trans guy from the Caribbean.

I don't think the solution is “be ashamed of what you like” but I don't think it's really enough to be like “be aware that what you like is primarily centering white capitalist rich propaganda”, either. I mean, awareness is great, but it doesn't FEEL like it's enough.

Maybe it's “cultivate an appreciation for stories that don't center whiteness and richness”?? And not in a homework kind of way or “go track down 20 documentaries about slavery” but in a way where it's like, recognize that the kinds of stories that you like and find fun to watch/read/listen to can absolutely be written without centering whiteness/richness. It would be HARD to hit some of the same narrative beats of inspiration that Hamilton hits in a Sally Hemings musical, but hell, I don't think it would be impossible to do that. (Obviously the story would not be the same, and it shouldn't be, but I'm just saying that stories of people oppressed by unjust systems can still be inspirational and fun! they don't always have to be tragedies!) It may even be out there and I just don't know it.

I think right now, Sally Hemings: The Musical would not be commercially successful, even if it DID hit the same narrative beats as Hamilton. Because it's too threatening to tell that story, in a lot of ways. But that's what I would like to do. Work towards a world where A. racism and poverty don't fucking exist and B. fandom and mass media are less racist and classist and etc.

….I'll go into fic ideas in a new post, since this feels like a complete thought for now.

Any tips for writing great angst?

had 2 think abt this for a bit bc as i've said before my writing process is largely intuitive but!! here's what i've come up with:

1 - read angst <3

this might seem like basic advice but! i would be remiss if i did not mention that part of the way i learned how to come up with angsty situations was simply by reading a lot of angsty stories. now when i write if i'm trying to come up with angst i'll often find myself thinking about what stories have stuck with me in the past and what made them so heart-wrenching.

2 - muddy the waters

i find that when i'm trying to write a heartbreaking story, including a clear Wrong and Right character often diminishes the angst. for example--if two characters are fighting, but one is clearly framed as The Bad Guy and the other is clearly framed as The Victim, the story can of course be sad, but it sort of falls into an easy emotional logic to follow of sympathy for the victim and anger at the bad guy. the stories that i find stick with me much more are ones that include conflict with no clear right and wrong side, where you can understand where both characters are coming from and sympathize with both while also understanding that they are hurting each other. i also prefer these types of stories because i think they tend to be in conversation with the reader more, whereas stories with a clear Good versus Bad setup are kind of just feeding you a script of what you're supposed to feel much of the time. so even if you do have a clear antagonist in your story, i find it more compelling if there is more to the antagonization than just some Inherent Evil.

3 - make it unfair

when something bad happens, most people's first instinct is to look for a clear reason or for someone to blame. additionally, i think a lot of people will instinctively try to find ways to sort of "lessen the blow"--to make the Bad Thing that happened hold some greater meaning, or to say things like "they're in a better place now," etc. that is all perfectly understandable when seeking comfort in the wake of a tragedy--but if you're trying to write angst, take that comfort away! if you want to kill a character, make it abundantly clear to the reader that that character does not want to die, that they have so much to live for, etc etc. make bad things happen randomly, for no reason. make bad things happen to people who don't deserve it. make bad things happen that don't lead to any greater good, that perhaps even make things worse. make bad things happen that were so easily avoidable, but for whatever reason just could not be avoided in this instance. if you really want to twist the knife, a good way to do it is by leaving the reader going, "it's just so unfair!"

4 - leave problems unresolved

this ties into the last point, because again, what is goes back to is taking away the comfort that we seek when something bad happens. if your goal is to write really intense angst, then one of the best ways to do that is to leave whatever problem is causing strife unresolved, or at least to avoid giving a clear resolution/happily-ever-after.

anyway! hope that's helpful :) i'm happy to give like. more concrete examples of any of these points if anything wasn't clear or to try and elaborate more, but...yeah. i feel like these are just some overarching things to consider when you're trying to decide how angsty you wanna make something!

Radiohead, "Creep" (Live in Oxford, 2001)

As a band, Radiohead has always been legible. They tell you how to think about them: what their story is, what their music means. And if you were a Radiohead fan in the 90's, you knew they hated their first hit, "Creep." You knew this because they told you, but also because they made a series of albums that were aggressively the opposite of "Creep"'s anglo-grunge angst; because tour documentary Meeting People is Easy made clear their disgust with the kind of mindless fame a song like "Creep" engendered. "I want to have control," Thom had sung in the song, and now they were taking control of their narrative. They wanted to be smart, and "Creep" was not smart.

The problem was, if you were a Radiohead fan in the 90's, you yourself probably loved "Creep." When I first heard the song, I was just the kind of teen to feel that crunchy angst deep in my soul, and even as I went to college and wanted to seem smart and do smart things myself (OK Computer, Kid A, and Amnesiac are all very "I went to college" sort of albums), every moment of "Creep," from its chiming beginning to its jet-takeoff chorus to its transparent self-loathing, was a blast. My gross teenage soul felt seen. And anyway, wasn't Radiohead's rejection of the song exactly the kind of self-loathing that "Creep" itself had managed to capture so perfectly? I was a creep, I was a weirdo; what the hell were we doing there? Let's not do that again, guys. Come on.

After college, I spent a lot of time online arguing with past versions of myself. I was  embarrassed about the college-age Radiohead superfan who'd spent hours decoding the band's inscrutable website updates, convinced that they contained some galaxy-brain higher message, some greater masterpiece. When In Rainbows came out, given away at the band's website for whatever you wished to pay, the fan narrative became that Radiohead had boldly pioneered a new economic model that would save the music industry. But by that point, I'd become knowledgeable enough about both music and the music industry that I could smugly point out to you the many ways in which that was wrong. (And, even today, I can do a solid 7 minutes on how In Rainbows devalued digital music.) I didn't listen to the album for years, even though, when I did, I liked it well enough. Your old self can get in your head, can become a region on your internal map filled with sea dragons and smoke. Don't go here. 

When you're in your 40's, like I am now, you can't just react to your last identity; you have too many to choose from. It's easier to look back with regret on the many old selves you've lost than to boldly forge a new identity opposed to your last one. I was a writer for a couple decades, then got a professional job that didn't allow me to write. Since leaving it, I've been trying to put my writer-self back together, but in assembling my last bio, I noted that many of my publications were in outlets that no longer exist. It's easy to fall into regret; to feel illegible, your self-perception out of sync with how others see you. You can't afford these arguments with your past self anymore. You have to find a way to embrace them.

In 2001, after releasing Amnesiac, Radiohead played a triumphant homecoming gig in Oxford, where they'd all met at university. (Like I said: a very "I went to college" band.) At that point, they hadn't played "Creep" in four years, even as they'd put out two confirmed masterpieces, and all signs pointed to them never playing the song again. They weren't planning on playing it that day, either. At the end of their final encore, they began to play "Motion Picture Soundtrack," the bleak love song that closes "Kid A." It was written around the same time as "Creep," but where "Creep" is easily legible, guitars and lyrics united in message, "MPS" pushes against itself, a cozy organ contrasting harshly with Thom Yorke's declaration that he'll never be with the object of his desire, and will only "see you in the next life."  But the crowd wouldn't hear MPS that day. The band flubbed the intro, and instead of starting again, Thom says, "Okay, I've got a better idea. This is a slightly older song."

As the first note of "Creep" hits, a sound erupts from the crowd: not just a cheer, not just a scream, but the clearest expression of release I've ever heard. It is a true surprise, a fulfillment of their heart's desire; one diehard Radiohead fans never expected to happen, or at least not that day. They sing along to every word. And the band shows no signs of the embarrassment they'd felt so strongly for the song since releasing OK Computer. Jonny launches into the first roaring chord of the chorus audibly out of tune, and you can hear a moment of hesitancy, the old embarrassment threatening to creep in, before he gives in to the song's pull. Thom sings it with a gleeful lightness. It's a reunion, a band realizing, in a flash, that they've had enough distance from their past self to love them again. You need that distance, need to see your earlier selves were right, or at least not wrong; not smart, maybe, but maybe smart isn't what really matters. Maybe what really matters isn't being smart or right but that feeling, that release, the crowd and the band together, in perfect purpose, deciding to love the sound itself and its adored history rather than the barren meaning of the words. The explicit legibility slips away into something richer and more complex, and together, they find joy in having made it far enough from that angst to view it with affection.

On inherent stories and worldbuilding

OK so the title is pretentios but you looked at it right? cool

I legitimately would realy apreciate it if you read or loosely read this, this project is very important to me and I've worked alot on it. Thank you for reading at all, go drink some water, love u <3

anyways, Im making a cardgame right now, like MTG but hopefully monotized in a more ethical way. like, as a 1 time purchase or subscription.

So, In my game there is a very heavy emphasis on ecology, and it is basically explicitly environmentalist propoganda, that's not the point tho, what we are trying to do initially is trick people into thinking about environmental issues with cool worldbuilding. And on that worldbuilding, as lead desiner/writer person, I think I can actually share some pretty good tips.

Some quick background, not super important. In our wold there a 4 color identities, wich is both for gameplay (mtg inspired) and lore (also mtg inspired) Red, white(yellow), Green, black(purple), for each of wich is a place on an alighnment chart and teirs within the factions represented by these colors. again, like MTG

On that topic, of the factions and identities these card colors and gameplay elements represent, I have some tips for Dms and other worldbuilders.

My main thing, Is inherrent stories (built in stories).

As an example,

The Orks in my world are reptilian hominids obsessed with fire. As a starting point my desire was to do a new type of Ork, where we maintain the motif of chaos alighned "Monsters" who's actions serve the bad guys, like in WoW or LotR. from there I knew that my red faction was fire themed, but building up this concept was kinda hard for me. I didn't really know hoe to start with meeting this desire while subverting the typical Ork tropes.

So I decided to take the aproach of working from first my desire to have a fire ascociation. I Already had a theme of the main humanoids in my world being ascociated or related to specific animal groups, Goblins have similarity to anteaters, elves bees, and Dorvs beetles and grubs. So I knew the first step in my Orls was going to be Making them some sort of animal.

And i had a good think on that, you know I landed on reptiles. wich seem obvious in hindsight, but at the time I was very excited about this, since it meant there was already a clear connection to be made with fire. since most reptiles cannot regulate heat on their own, a connection to the sun and fire is very easy to make. Especially for a hominid species. Already we have a peice of a narrative, Orks love Fire because they need it to survive cold days. Wonderful, now how do we get that ascociation to chaos and subvert the typical barbaric Orks trope?

My first thought was inspired by Warhammer greenskins, wich isn't super subvertive, just giving orks big techy robots doesn't do much to change the ascociation with brutish methods and uncivilized nature. I knew I wanted to make the Orks more equal intelectually with my other factions, instead of having them be the mindless other bent on chaos. So the step after "Ork like fire" turned out to be their philosophy

What I ended up going for was in my opinion pretty original,

Orks, Due to their reliance on Fire, developed a culture and Philosophy built on the nurturing of "Warmth." Warmth takes many fors for the Orks, they find it in Art, Music, magic, and love. Family and play and Food, and even war. Where the Orkish philosophy deteriorates as a method of governance it the often single minded focus on what makes an individual feel good, and forgetting that other people, even those that don't seek warmth, have needs and desires too. By creating this intrinsic societal issue, where governance ends up focusing on how to make one's tribe as warm as possible, we can create narratives about how desperate poorer comunites are for warmth, how creative they get, and how even bad, and evil deeds can be seen as a positive as long as they bring warmth to your tribe.

We can have wars and espionage and gatherings and beutiful ronmances all built around this pervasive desire for individual pleasure. And we can have stories form when an Ork realizes that the Goblins they've hurt also want good things, and how the Orks realize that their selfish behavior makes the world less warm for everyone. We can have stories about nurturing empathy in a selfish society, and stories about becoming closer to one another, of seperating one's self from those who use them and hurt them.

Also, with this narrative, Orks turn into warbands of bards, preists, and mages, keen on nurturing warmth and helping their ingroup. WHOA we just subverted the barbarian ork trope didnt we? HORRAY ALL OF OUR GOALS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED BY ONE DESCISION SPIRALLING!

Of course perscribing concepts and personality to individual characters based off of their race is a horrible thing to do. but for a group it's very usefull to narrow down concrete adjectives and emotions that are associated with your societies and cultures.

My Advice to you, is try to find your Ork bards, but don;t start there. Think about how society would form around the 4 legged Praying mantis men your story is about, and how different a society could be based off of the physiological environment your characters exist in.

My second peice fo advice, Is that If you want to make a specific type of civilization, As an example, hive cities (like warhammer), try to think about what typre of culture would develope that city? who would live in the underwater Utopia, who would work in the sugar mines, and why do the sugar mines exist? I know It can be increadably difficult to find an angle to take your worldbuilding, so start with 1 small descision, an easy one, like "Do I want my orks to be colorful?" Answer that, then build from there.

final note, Yes, this is an extremely long post, and thank you for reading it,

also ...

👌

I, ME, HAS gotten you HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA *evil gnome voice* You hAVe but THIRTY MINUTES to get someone else before you ARE IT for the rest of your life MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Hello Sendarya,

and thank you so much for the Good Omens video essays and analyses! Especially the ones about music (hidden clues etc.) are so enlightening, and for a person whose mother tongue is not English, your way of speaking is clear and easy to follow. Thank you!

I've been a long-time (but now several years absent) member of Wheel of Time community (tarvalon.net's Brown Ajah), but new to GO fandom, and I thought to ask you before pestering Neil Gaiman - I mean I don't know if this has been already asked of him (didn't find it in the spreadsheet FAQ, though).

Appearing/disappearing miraculously. Furfur has the ring, Aziraphale has his portal, both angels and demons can travel through telephone wires. Then there's the lift, and the "big transporter" (out of service) and "little transporter" (maybe the lift?), and the stairs. In addition the demons and angels just appear, sometimes with fanfare, lightning, or flames directly from heaven or hell.

What puzzles me is whether they can appear from place to another on earth without telephone wires or other transportation means, and without going to heaven/hell in between. Do you know if Mr. Gaiman has answered this? Shax seems to be able to, at least short distances (from outside to inside the Bentley, and after the "awning of the new age" disaster in front of the bookshop, but that might be something else because she appears as random people on the street and not herself all the time - and then when she's masquerading as the woman needing a lift).

Crowley drives everywhere, and when Aziraphale wants to drive the Bentley, Crowley suggests Aziraphale should go by train, like a miraculous way of traveling wasn't an option.

And related thing, about the last episode of S2 when Beelzebub, Furfur and Dagon appear directly inside the bookshop. Always before both the angels and the demons have appeared outside and then needed a direct invitation to come in - save in S1 when Gabriel and Sandalfon can walk in, but that's probably because it was the rare times the bookshop was open for customers (anybody could just walk in). Do you know the demon trio could appear inside the bookshop because "the thing with the halo" somehow neutralized the threshold/boundary line?

Sorry for being so wordy, and thank you if you can enlighten me!

Hello!

Never be sorry for being wordy. Your English is also excellent! I'm always impressed with bilingual skills.

I'm glad you've enjoyed my videos! Finding and sharing things like the hidden music is a real joy. I'm also glad I'm easy to understand, and thank you fur the compliment.

As far as I know, Neil has not addressed the question of how transportation works in the Good Omens universe magic system.

My answer, my best guess anyway, is in two parts.

First, the magic system in Good Omens seems to be a soft magic systrm. This a term coined by author Brandon Sanderson, and essentially it means that although there are rules to the magic, they are flexible and often not clearly defined. This allows the writers to use the magic in whatever way they need that best tell the story.

Second, from what I can tell, demons and angels can only teleport on earth to one another, not to any location they want. Crowley at the Bastille, Shax to Crowley in the Bentley, Aziraphale near Crowley at the Bentley, etc.

Why can they sometimes just sort of beam up or down (the teleporter i presume) and other times need to take the lift, I don't know. It's a good question, but one who's answer might just be: "because it serves the story."

It's not the most satisfying answer, but much like the messy angelic heirarcy, in the end I'm not sure Neil or Terry ever created a solid, fixed magic system with inflexible rules that we can make sense out of.

okay with THAT dissertation done, the rest of the shit I've done so far, which is finishing up a lot of SLinks! I have now completed Temperance, Sun, Moon, and Death. Let's go over them.

GET READY FOR SOME CARTOMANCY TAAAAAALK

who me? what? don't know WHAT you could be implying Kawakami hahaha anyway how about this weather, btw i'm super happy for you. wow what a crazy random happenstance! you deserve it, i love you.

I KNEW IT, SHE KNOWS

When asked how she figured out, she points out that the thing with Takase's guardians worked out way too well for her and Reverie was the only person she told. Which... yeah, that makes it p5retty fucking obvious huh.

lmao as if Reverie going "I need their names," in the previous scene wasn't a massive flag. I am not playing this subtle but also Kawakami is smart and I adore her.

Her SLink is complete!!!! So far, she's the best one in the game, to my utter astonishment. I'm glad I muscled through the awful start because this SLink has everything: mocking the player's teacher-maid fetish, an incredibly mouthy cool millennial lady, a genuinely tragic backstory without being soap opera-y, sympathetic portray of sex workers. IT'S GOT IT ALL.

Kawakami was kind of a very Standard portrayal of Temperance. It's not a super interesting card, it's just about having the emotional strength to find the path forward and to find balance in yourself spiritually and materially. It's often portrayed as an angel passing water between two cups-- cups are the suit of emotional intelligence. And they're my favorite suit, personally.

Kawakami starts the arc solidly in a reversed Temperance, she can't balance anything, the goblets are overturned, and all of her emotional strength is just pouring out onto the floor because she is so overworked, there is no well for her to draw from. Through the arc, she actually shares her troubles with Reverie, which in of itself is a show of emotional strength, and with his help manages to rebalance herself. Finally, she can take her eyes off the cups and look ahead to her future.

TEN OUT OF TEN, SO FAR SHE'S MY FAVORITE CONFIDANT.

I haven't been recapping it because it's.... genuinely not a link that's easy to summarize bc its a lot of politics and small moments, but I finished the Sun too!

OH SO THAT'S THE JOKE OF EVERY LINK HUH, EVERYONE KNOWS WHO REVERIE REALLY IS that's pretty cute actually, I like it.

Yoshida was this failed politician who got disgraced twenty years ago in a finance scandal, now returned to try and take office again. His whole arc is about his new ideals of empowering the youth and taking care of the elderly, and with the rise of the Thieves, he acknowledges them as a symptom of a broken system that needs massive reform.

You follow him through some intra-party political issues and his recurring thing is that he sticks to running instead of being someone else's right hand man, even when doing so would clear his name from the finance scandal that ruined him.

I'm NOT gonna lie, his final speech is good. He speaks about Reverie, "a certain young man" he met who is aspiring to change the whole, and though Yoshida cannot follow the same path as this young man, he hopes they will meet again at the top of the mountain they are both climbing together, separate.

It's really good honestly. And for the curious, Yoshida is a very interesting Sun to me. The Sun comes at the end of the Star-Moon-Sun sequence and those three cards are basically their own mini-journey. The Star is the herald that the story isn't over and you must continue. The Moon is the darkness that follows, full of illusions and distractions and madness you have to navigate. And the Sun is the light that comes after, is exuberant and joyful, and more than anything it is certain in itself. In the light of the Sun, all is revealed and laid bare. (Which is why it leads into Judgement soon after.)

Yoshida works for the Sun really well because the twenty years of scandal and shame have already happened to him, and he has made it out to the other side. Now, his ideals and purpose are illuminated under the Sun and he never strays from his path.

It's good! Eight out of ten on him!

DEATH! Goth Doctor!

lmao she figured it out too. I guess that's just the joke of every max rank, huh?

Anyway, I loved Tae for The Unnamed Arcana. She's great. I love that she's actually a goth, actually has a very morbid sense of humor, actually talks about death a lot. They really leaned into the whole vibe and I appreciate that.

Also her look is impeccable obviously.

Tae's whole thing is that she's undergoing the process of Death, the transformation the card deals with. With the lost of her prestigious position at the research hospital, she is stuck working in a small back-alley clinic.

She definitely goes through a period of real mourning for her past self, resisting the forward motion of her life. But slowly she begins caring for the locals around her and builds a new patient base. Really, the drama with her past patient and the miracle cure for her is an afterthought; the Death aspect is definitely rooted in Tae herself. And by the end of the link, she is still dour and morbid, but there is life to her voice again.

She's great. Seven out of ten.

So Mishima.

SIGHS. Okay. I hate Mishima as a character and I think he represents everything that is bad about the Phantom Thieves and it's his actions (which were completely unasked for and unprompted) that leads the plot to the clusterfuck we're about to enter with Okamura's imminent death. Fuck the phansite and fuck this phuckboy.

BESIDES THAT

yeah he's a half-decent Moon? It's complicated, actually.

So his set up as the Moon is pitch-perfect. The Moon card is a place a person comes to after great upheaval in their life. It's a dark, quiet place for contemplation and reflection. Best case scenario is that it's a stepping stone in your journey towards the new dawn and the Sun.

But there are strange images in the reflection and the reflected light of the Sun in the Moon can lead a person astray and into madness.

Again: the Moon is an environment of possible madness. The Hanged Man is a risk taken that might led to madness. The Hanged Man goes into the deal eyes open, knowing the stakes. The Moon doesn't know the danger around them and has to keep from lingering.

So as the Moon, Mishima goes from being Kamoshida's punching bag into this dark, quiet place where he doesn't know what to do with himself, only that he needs a purpose. He settles on the Phansite.

Now, I think the game is arguing that running the Phansite gives Mishima direction and purpose, letting him move forward in his path.

I think that's undercut by how much the game itself points out Mishima's actions led to various fuck ups. Remember when Reverie had to be the one to tell him to give back the fucking money he'd collected from "donations"? Honestly, most of the conversations in this SLink are just trying to drag Mishima away from his worse impulses.

Which... also kinda works! I say the game's intended portrayal of the Moon is dumb, but my own is just as valid. I don't think Mishima has moved on and grown at all. I think he's been dazzled by the false, reflected light of the Moon (metaphorically, the allure of his nebulous fame re: the Phansite and his repeated misunderstanding of how to use it without being a malicious prick) and instead of continuing on his journey, he is staring slack-jawed into the illusion.

Sooooooooooo.... Nine out of ten, honestly!

But also I hate Mishima.

ONWARDS, INTO IMMINENT DISASTER!