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rwbytales · 10 months

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RWBY Search & Rescue: Island Maturin

RWBY Tabletop RPG Homebrew Story

OK so there were a few people who liked or commented on that post i made so i figured I would put it here so i dont have to do everything seperately persay, and tag everyone who said something!!!!

Plus I really like this so I'd love to properly have it down somewhere to go back and reference or if anyone else is interested in something or using stuff or anything!

I'm super excited and I'm gonna start with the premise of it and stuff and like if yall wanna hear more or the details up to what i have or have questions id love to know cause it'd probably help me. Eitherway this was a lot so ima put the deets under readmore!!!!

@eviltomb @caeruleum-feniks @utallige @a-d-h-dragons

So to start, I came across this Unnofficial RWBY TTRPG Rulebook Some things I either didn't agree with and wanted to change, or wanted to make certain things easier to find for player reference/ character creation, of which is outlined here if you're interested in seeing. (This was also a character sheet i found i had them use for reference to make the character) Most of it is changes to dust, potential for Team Attacks to do better and deal more damage, as well as a Team Leader for flavour who gets bonus Initiative and can give a small bonus call for a full team attack.

I also worked with each person to create a custom Semblance based on what type of skill or power they wanted to have, and adjust aura capacity and semblance use to actually require aura as well.

I did basically give them unlimited ammo, they just needed to reload as needed, and only had limited # of dust colors available to use based on what could reasonable be used by them and their backstory, so I made sure they would have to manage some sort of resource in someway, which did work out in my favour in the end.

(I recorded all(my 1 shot was 6 sessions so i called it a chapter instead) of them since it was my first time DMing a tabletop game and wanted to be able to reference it. and I want to transcribe them eventually into more of a story format)

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So for premise(this was not created this way but ended up during/after creation of the story because my team wanted to continue and was interested in playing more)

But I settled on a timeline because I dont want to have anything to do with current RWBY really, so some thigns have taken liberty and there may have been minor adjustments to events in the timeline, granted we never got exact dated anyway, just general timeframes.

So basically, this first story takes place after the party team has graduated. I'm imagining Hunstmen Academy is basically 4 years of school, the last 2 years could be... kind of part time? Because you are more so in the field than in school itself, sometimes going to other continents/schools or extended missions with veteran huntsmen or something meaning you would be gone for quite a while as well, you're just below freely licensed hunstmen, and often are treated as real huntsmen, especially when accompanied with veteran huntsmen, whether that treatment be good or bad.

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One of my favourite things abouyt RWBY is how everything is pretty much based off mythology, fairytales, or just fiction media in general, so I wanted to try to add in as much of that as I could to my story.

The first Piece I want to give is this

Search and Rescue: Mission Log

It was what the player characters would know about the mission and situation going on, basically this would be the reference they can look at at any time IC to check whats up or whatever.

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BASICALLY before Into too much detail the overall thing for it

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An island suddenly shows up near the shores of Anima, near the kingdom of Mistral, mysterious disappearances near the beach just days before the island showed up. Numbers of grimm increasing, causing more unrest in the nearby towns.

There are near forgotten fairytales of islands that disappear and reappear, that move and then never seen again. This island though, has been there for 7 days, through the fog and storm. Unmoving, unchanging.

They've sent curious hunters, team SIOC(Sirocco) out the day it arrived to investigate, but 3 days after have lost all contact with them.

Now 7 days after the island appeared, and 4 days after contact has been lost, missions have been revised and they've called for a search and rescue on the island.

Players team, PMAV(Primavera), then accepts the mission and is flown almost an hours time to the island where they have to realize they should have thought about a landing stratagy if they haven't already and get yeeted out of the airship.

If you can't tell by the name, the island itself is actually a giant grimm tortoise, this thing is huge, it is ancient, and has a grimm forest on its back. Looking at it, you can't tell really. There is a heavy dark mist that surrounds the thick forest once you get close enough to see, and once in the forest, the canopy is so thick between that and the mist, you can't hardly tell night from day.

There are pools of grimm on it's back, causing new grimm to be birthed from them constantly, meaning there is always a threat, and many new grimm that they come in contact with. ( I found cool looking oc grimm on deviant art or made stuff up for them to make it different, but also had known rwby grimm as well)

The mysterious island, while also being a world turtle, (this being named for Stephen Kings work), it's also going to double as the Black Forest, where many fairytales were said to take place.

To allude to this more, I did decide to add in a.. rendition of Salem, obviously taking the place as the witch, as she has been called many times. I did kind of reuse the thought of Hansel and Gretel, because I most of the cast of RWBY seems based off stories in the black forest and didn't want to reuse any of those.

So I have, Cwrell & Margarite Katad, twins that take their place in this sense.

(Gretel means Pearl, Margarite also shares that name meaning, with Cwrell meaning Coral, thus giving the twins names that have relations to eachother, while still being able to allude in someway to their OG tale and bring colors to mind. Then their last name Katad, meaning animal skin/leather, pulling from the last name commonly associated with Hansel& Gretel, Leiderhosen which are a type of leather garments.

Pearl, actually has the ability to create physical illusions pretty much, which are more stable if they are placed over a physical object(disguising an object as something is more stable), thus allowing her to make a tent look like an oddly placed cottage in this oddly placed island.

Cwrell,has the ability to track via semblance/aura use. So they can see remnants of colored aura left behind in locations where it was lost or used, and can use it to track where to go/where others are.

They are clearly, instead of working against the witch, are working as the witch direct underlings. I have ideas for backstory thoughts on the Katad twins but idk if itd been too much or something

Eventually, while they are on the island for a few days searching and such, they do come across the twins, who try to trick and attack them as they seem to be getting too close, or causing too much of a ruckus for Salem's liking.

But upon finding human remains and such scattered around and questionable abandoned tents and such, they end up finding out via a lost scroll they hacked into, that there seems to be a reason people were being taken and not just killed. It's hard to tell because presumably the scroll belonged to a member of team SIOC, and the notes and such are scattered and don't make sense. Like someone was scared, they didn't know what was happening, they were in a rush. Without more information, the most that can be gathered is that people were being experimented on, and newer grimm were more focused on taking people as opposed to just killing them. The experiments done looked gruesome, and there was mention how they could hear the pain and screaming at night and during the day echoing through the trees.

Eventually, in the end, they came across a claring with many grimm pools, flashes of bright silver light flashing and screaming almost in unison with it and all. They see a woman they never heard of, who we know as Salem.

An encounter starts as the team doesn't seem the woman is up to any good, which doesn't work out well as she just.. stands back up and continues, a large Praying Mantis-eque grimm, that towers nearly twice as tall as the people, the shape of its head and the main part of its body looks very earily human, moreso than any other grimm seen before., basically a fight ensues between the grimm, with salem there, and basically salem/her grimm pet kill the players at that point, in the spirit of teams unknowingly going against a big bad evil immortal lady that cant be killed and being killed because they didn't know

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Basically, Salem was trying to create Grimm experiments using humans and such, all of them being horrendously failed experiments of varying degrees and such. None of them worked, but all seemed very very painful and brutal and inhumane. All done in different ways dependant on what hasn't worked before.

The sucessful experiment that the players come across, is a very special one for 1 reason that seperates it from every other one.

She used the Silver-Eyed huntress from team SIOC as the base this time, and something about that specific trait meant she was able to succeed at creating a grimm hybrid. This basically serves as the Prototype of The Hound, that we met in Volume 8 of RWBY.

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a-slut-for-smut · 1 year

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heya! ive recently been introduced to the nanamei rare pair and im genuinely curious abt how the ship came to be ! they look really good together and i wanna get in on the ship 😳

Happy new year and sorry for the delay, also can i say you display impeccable taste??

As far as the pairing came to be, i imagine it was like any other ship- pure, unfettered brainrot! 😆

But to expand on that, Nanamei is a rare pair indeed, which is such a shame but understandably so. While i only have a working knowledge of canon (long story, but ive been burned too many times in the past so i prefer living 24/7 in my lala fairy headcanon land) IIRC Nanami and Mei Mei dont have any direct interactions in the manga so as far as ship crumbs it is slim pickings.

So on the surface level, its as you say, they look SO good together- just a pair of tasty af snacks you could dine on for years hehe. However, it just makes you wonder what else could lie beneath and THATS where the sl*utty headcanon potential begins! Behold, my shameless sm*utty Nanamei headcanons:

Sharp Dressers

When it comes the official attire JJK characters are known for, id say Nanami and Mei Mei are the most fashion-oriented dressers- Nanami wears tf outta a suit, and i always liked Mei Mei's chic, covered head to toe look (bonus that its not overtly sexualized while showing off her curves). So, my brainrot is convinced not only does Mei Mei LOVE to clothes shop for Nanami, but insists that he join so he can model them for her (insert future sm*ut fic where they do the dirty in a luxury designer dress room 😝)

Bed & Breakfast

They love having breakfast together after a wild night in bed, and because Nanami's a huge bread sl*ut they routinely go to his favorite Parisian themed bakery cafe. Mei always orders the biggest, thickest and hardest baguette because she says it reminds her of Nanami and eats it a certain way to get him hot and bothered. I wrote a little drabble based on this teehee

Oxford Dictionary on the streets, Urban Dictionary in the sheets

So they both come off having buttoned up, reserved personas outwardly/publicly, but i like to think they're decidedly opposite in private...if you catch my drift. Nanami tends to be very formal and respectful, especially to Mei as she is his senior and one of the strongest sorcerers there. So Mei's kink is to get him so sexually flustered/come out of his cage, to get him to disrespect her (especially in bed). Which he does, to Mei's absolute delight.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

This is the headcanon where i see major ship potential. Canonically Mei is well known to be money-hungry (stated that she would side with whomever paid more etc) and Nanami had left the sorcery world to become a salaryman after graduating. So my brainrot had me thinking, what was the REAL reason Nanami left the JJK world behind? Was it to make some money to impress a certain lady perhaps??

In my delusions of grandeur I had planned to explore this in a multi-chapter sm*ut fic but alas i honestly dont know when ill have the time. I did write a rough intro to the fic here, and the stepping stones/foundations are laid out in my companion gojohime fic (which also explore sugushoko, and hopefully in their own fic 😁) in a similar format of flashback/present day smutty romance if thats of interest!

Any way as far as getting onto the ship:

#PLS JOIN ME ITS LONELY HERE :(#thanks for the ask!#nanami kento #mei mei #mei mei jjk #nanamei #nanami x mei mei

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bi-sapphics · 2 years

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so, many months ago i sent an anonymous ask to @satanfemme requesting a matching butch flag to hys femme flag, and hys response was that hy didn't feel comfortable making it due to not being a butch hymself ─ but that i (or any other butch) could make one if we wanted to!! and that's exactly what i did. hopefully i remember to include all of the thoughts i wanted to put down.

to OP, assuming you see this: i'm going to copy your post format, as the point is for it to match and that the flag is based off of yours. if you are uncomfortable with anything or you would like me to change/delete something, please let me know and i will be happy to communicate effectively!! :)

^^ i'd also like to note that i acknowledge your blog is 18+. at the time of this post, i am 17. i hope that this sort of contact can be counted as an exception. i won't follow you, or interact with any of your other posts. but i'd still like to respect your wishes as best as i can. give me a heads-up if there's anything else i should be aware of, thanks.

[ID: an image of a butch pride flag. the flag conists of three horizontal stripes: light purple, dark purple, and light blue. in the top left corner is a lemon-meringue colored heart.]

💜 butch pride flag 💜

meaning & design:

to start off, it was unintentional that the colors are slightly more muted than its femme counterpart. however, i decided i liked that because femmes (as far as i know) aren't typically seen as bold and bright, but rather shy and quiet. i wanted to give them that spotlight in this flag set by constrasting their warm palette with a cool one. i also wanted to portray butches as being smitten as we sit back and fondly adore femmes from the sideline. besides, the true nature of a butch/femme dynamic is private and intimate, and we can show our pride while still reserving the most of it for our lovers.

with that being said ─

"masculinity and gender non-conformity" should be self-explanatory. butchness is about challenging the expectations of womanhood especially, but any sense of expectations in a world ruled by gender roles. it also is built by its own unique characteristics of masculinity in such a queer and personal way. it is more obviously a "deviation from the norm" on the outside from femmeness, but that doesn't make it in any way more or less important to the identity.

"healing" derives from the original rainbow pride flag, and was something yet again inspired by the original post. my interpretation is that i've always heard, and now experienced for myself, how healing coming into one's true nature and fitting into the right body after realizing one is butch. the freedom of short or buzzcut hair, the comfort of casual clothes, and euphoria of the right hoodie or jacket, the embracing of a more masculine name, the honor of fulfilling a legacy, the music of a keychain jiggling in our pockets, the drilling sound of worker tools, etc. and anything else that butches throughout time and history have claimed makes them feel proud of themselves in ways that they never did before.

"protectiveness" refers to the role that butches play in our relationships. our story has collectively been built on our compatability with femmes, for whom we treat as a gentleman, knight, or otherwise a rank in loving servitude should. many of us aspire to be a prince rescuing our princess lovers from trouble, like in the fantasy books. it is a mutual agreement between us butches and our femmes that we look out for each other, and that's part of what defines who we are in this queer subculture.

lastly, the flower represents "passion." there is no butch who has ever lived without it. being butch requires the will to carry a reputation, a legacy, a love, a pride. otherwise, what's the point? this, and an eternal passion to exist for the eyes of femmes and the community of other butches. it's what makes the identity whole. it's one of the petals that make the flower pretty.

and here are the rest of the flag designs!! in order, top to bottom + left to right: female, male, lesbian/sapphic, gay, bi, alt bi, trans, bear, leather

#butch tag #butch flags #butch/femme #butch and femme #butch/femme dynamic #femme flags #flag design #flag meanings #flag symbols #matching flags #my flags #satanfemme

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likes-history-a-normal-amount · 27 days

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Long time lurker first time caller, taking my first dip into having a side blog— don’t know what to make as my pinned intro but I will try my best!!!

Hello!!! My name is rosy (they/he/she), I am 21, and I love talking history!! Also will be reposting art and pretty/goofy architecture!!!

Might talk about whatever current history deep dive I am in!!!

I am autistic so while I don’t always use tone indicators I do find them very very helpful!!

So feel free to ask for tone clarification!!

I also am trying to get in the habit of doing image descriptions (IDs). I’ve been going back and trying to retroactively add them as well as add them moving forward but if I miss one PLEASE tell me!!!!!

[GIF Description: a big brown bear in a thick grassy field behind a mesh wire barrier/fence. the bear is a sitting on its hind legs and waving at the person who is recording from inside their car. End ID]

Current Book: Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History by Vidya Krishnan

(I tend to get sidetracked while reading by looking at its historical context so it may therefore—like it does with anyone else— impact the way I analyze art and history for a bit) (also I am trying to get back into reading and sometimes read a bit slow or randomly switch books 😢 so don’t expect the book to change or genuinely get finished too often lolol)

Last Book: Slaughter House Five

Still processing, but I really liked the nonlinear structure and found it an interesting way to depict the character’s PTSD. I could see how it would seem very anti-war when it came out, though it’s less staunch than what I would consider an anti-war book. While I enjoyed its structure. I found myself wanting more from the story (having said that, I do not know what).

Last Last Book: Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke

Wowow loved this book!! Such a cool and interesting format, walked into it blind and I think that was a great choice to make!! Another banger recommendation from Shayne Topp from iCarly!!

Next Book: probably will be The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Berry

[GIF Description: an already damp polar bear charging up and the jumping through a patch of ice over a body of water. the bear kind of jumps, the ice breaks, THEN he goes through, a bit cute and clunky and definitely not a skillful and fluid motion. the bears but goes through very last, almost slumping in, much slower than the initial push and dive it does. End ID]

In college I studied business (economics and labor rights were my favorite topics) and theatre (mostly tech and theory, not acting) so perspectives can often come from those lenses!! I most definitely have blind spots as I am a white person in the US and from a pretty progressive city, so criticism and corrections in my msgs are always welcome!! if you know good resources outside of what I post that you think will help me gain a new perspective or understand a topic further I would love to hear it!!

Art reblogged will probably be more focused on older art pieces/artifacts, just to keep it more separate for my brain between the newer art I repost on my main

[GIF Description: forest landscape containing the midsection of a few trees. during the gif a sun bear climbs up one of the trees in a sort of one paw after the other motion; kind of like someone cautiously climbing a rope, but the sun bear seems very determined, yet relaxed and sure of itself. the tree is about large enough for its paws to mostly wrap around but small enough that you would expect it to sway if it was any smaller. when the bear goes up it. The bears mouth is slightly open, seemingly breathing out of that instead of its nose, making it appear a little goofy looking. End ID]

History Interest Stuff::

BIG into Los Angeles history, specifically the history of Griffith Park (I could talk about that for hours!!) would love to chat about community spaces being epicenters for cultural change, especially Griffith and it’s use by all demographics during times when that was atypical (bc of vague deed details please ask more I love telling people abt it). Or it’s darker less talked about involvement in post ww1-cold war.

Love 20th century history, but not in the often questionable ‘I like world war tactics/weapons/military leaders’ way, I’m more into ww1, 2, and Cold War pre and post war causes, implications, and consequences.

Been into learning abt british colonialism in Ireland and its history of religious persecution and its cause on later british colonialism!!

[GIF Description: someone cutting into a loaf of bread on a cutting board. it is brown and shaped like a teddy bear. It has lighter tan/white bread in the areas where the face and rear paws are. It has darker brown/black bread as eyes, nose/mouth, ears, paw pads on rear legs. End ID]

Ok I think that is all again I lurk far more than post bc I am shy 🙈🤣😜🐻😱 and bad at talking to people

If you read this far you are legally obligated to become my friend sorry I don’t make the rules

#about me

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ikilledamanforthisurl · 1 year

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Minami Anonx7 If it helps Literally everyone I have known ever has brought up that I sound like a literal cartoon mobster henchman every time I call people boss so i've just embraced it now fully. Everyone is Boss To Me as I sling my guns goofily to Get Da Coppers. But I SEE…. i've been playing through the yakuza games chronologically I’m currently watching through y4 right now but id like to watch dead souls afterwards. It is extremely funny though the idea of watching them completely ramshackled out of order. Anyways. 1) I personally would love to play the minami centric side game also + I literally cannot imagine it’s anymore embarrassing a thing to want then me daydreamng abt the side game id like to make for my yakuza OC and 2) SOOOOOOO true I love it when Nishida and Minami are like sort of a awful duo together also I admire your like notes about M construction. I haven’t given it much thought yet on how it actually works but that’s mostly bc I have family who work in construction so I make myself laugh thinking Majima has no idea what the hell he’s doing LOL but anyways real…… Idk if you've ever read it but there’s an awesome fic on ao3 where it’s basically about how Nishida was also a prisoner of the hole and this like sort of implied idea or like at least smth I saw someone bring up before in conjunction idea that “Whilst Minami tries to emulate Majima Nishida actually IS like Majima in a way and the result of that has made him jaded/heavily desensitised” which i think adds a really interesting layer to the Relationship to think abt ep if it were canon. So this is why Desperately desperately I need a M construction side game I need something to focus on the majima family outside of him and honestly especially on Nishida…… tangent but there is so much interesting potential w him I want to see it explored !!!!!! Last note here but have u seen Minami's scene in RGG online before? I just found an English translation of it today and it had me very biting and chewing over A) Minami getting legitimately upset when his fake accent was mocked, not bc it was a slight against HIM but against MAJIMA and B) the sort of self deprecating mention he makes of what good is he if he’s not strong enough / good at smth before it immediately gets pushed aside by him and C) the implication that Minami is genuinely attached to Kamurocho/wants to protect it. If u havent i can try and find the post I saw abt it but. Much to think about

I HAVE SEEN THE RGGO STORY IT KILLS ME KILLS ME KILLS ME EVERY TIME. biting and chewing is a good way to describe it. have YOU seen the Nishida one? Minami shows up very briefly and i can practically already sense your reaction to his couple of lines (i grab and SHAKE him i shake him so much)

its so funny how hes so close to having any kind of depth and then he brushes it off immediately like "yeah this whole clan fuckup bothers me n has got me feelin insecure .lol lmao anyways". like as much as its kind of annoying as a fan of the character its also unfortunately realistic? EYE do that. you wouldnt catch me dead elaborating and having a nice rock-talk if my life was in the midst of being tableflipped. lol + lmao + anyways is the best you're gonna get

also, as a bonus tidbit before i go figure out how to format this idea for a tumblin post, this is half the setup for the Saejima teacher idea i was playing with ☝ because i already know RGG is NEVER going to put any meaningful spotlight on the Family members who've been essentially left to pick up their bootstraps with the big whoopsie of y7. sorry that i keep talking about it in code i dont wanna spoil nobody, in spite of not caring abt them myself i know others do 🙇‍♂️ i'm taking matters into my own hands and i am going to explore the IMPLICATIONS of the BIGGEST FAMILY POSSIBLY EVER going thru what it does. and i'm going to grab Minami by his non-existent shirt collar and i'm going to shake him around until he talks about how this affects him at least a little bit. i'll stop coding this in the Saejima Teacher plot post so you can decide if it matters 2 you or not and read up when i get to it btws

also your point about Nishida is spot on. you don't keep the kind of man who trembles at every conversation he has for that many years without breaking him down and making him (comparatively) jaded in such a stressful line of work. on top of that, Majima literally tests this man like its some sort of divine Greek-mythos punishment put unto him by the gods..... he's absolutely jaded underneath that shaky deadpan stare. Nishida may never outwardly resemble Majima, persona or the genuine self, but he absolutely rubs off on him and influences him heavily. this is the kinda relationship most Gokudo in the series seem to have with their bosses when they're worth a damn, Saejima was ready to walk to the ends of the earth for his patriarch due to the positive impact he had on him, and Majima likewise for his boss, though moreso in the opposite direction. not wholly..... Majima's priority of strength begets some kind of twisted respect towards Shimano. I wonder if he lacks that respect for Sagawa, who as far as I remember never physically overpowers or threatens Majima except for when he's already down and weakened in some form.......? getting off track. point is Oyajis are very very influential to their precious boys, their Family will reflect them (personality, how he runs the joint, etc) regardless if they want it to or not. Majimemegoro has some baller fics exploring all this and it's a large part of what influences me today.....

Speaking of, i would love the title of that fic you've mentioned... i'm a little picky of which fanfic i'll give the time of day but Nishida also having experience with Anagura is tantalising. like that's so tragic.... that's so evil...... i'm sitting here wondering to myself if he was a survivor or.. yknow........ because no one else, in canon, "made it out" of Anagura alive. or, more specifically, no victims make it out of Anagura. Majima was always the exception. either option makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it...... cause if he is another victim then the way Majima treats him is just.... and if he's not then is his constant dedication to him like a form of atonement....... oouuhhhrggg......... im going to hit the wall...........

also! i'd love to hear if you have any unique takes regarding M.Con considering your family...... when i say im pulling ideas out of my ass i mean it. you've got access to a unique perspective methinks. closest i got is other people's accounts and (shudders) ausgov roadworkers i see occasionally............

also also! when you get to dead souls please bitch to me the moment something goes awry i HATE-love dead souls.... the characterisation makes me stub my toe repeatedly in frustration. its not bad and i dont want to be the NO FUN ALLOWED twat but ugghghhghghrghrhgrhg the zombie setting is not handled in a way that engages me. thats all i'll say bc otherwise ill be here forever venting all my nitpicks that i SHOULD throw on twitter but wont bc i got hardcore DS dickrider mutuals who'll get sad in my mentions at best and maybe take it personally at worst

#ikildaman shut the fuck up #thank you for your service minami anon goon(getting me to speak at length #i love these asks its like a hop skip and a jump away from resembling a writers room #i love bouncing ideas off of ppl and getting new ones back....... joy joyous joy #i DO have a friend i could probably get away with doing this with but i think theyll get mad at me for making em read so much english LMAO #he puts up with my deranged bullshit enough as it is (and i am thankful #kuppi if you see this. kidding ik you wont but KISSIES!

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cheri-translates · 3 years

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[CN] S2 Gavin - The Stories Project

🍒 Warning: Detailed spoilers for content not yet released in EN!🍒

Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide

Features S2 Gavin but contains no spoilers regarding the S2 storyline

This is a continuation of The Broadcast Countdown Project. Do read that first!

[ This was released on 25 August 2021 ]

[ Chapter One ]

Gavin and I are standing outside Door 501 of the 7th block in Pavilion Village.

This is also the home of Zhang Nian, the kidnapper who handed me an anonymous letter in the TV station before eventually committing suicide.

A thorough investigation of the case involving the anonymous kidnapper and his suicide has ended. The STF has also removed the cordoning around the scene.

I liaised with the TV station, planning to showcase the incident from start to end in a special episode of the show which will be aired in the last episode of “Inquiries”.

Gavin: This used to be a crime scene. If you’re afraid, wait for me here. If you need any materials, I can head inside and find them for you.

MC: It’s okay, I don’t avoid such things... Also, I have a feeling that there’s definitely something behind this case worth seeing in person.

The husband and wife who were kidnapped had related the details to me, and mentioned that even though Zhang Nian had kidnapped them, they weren’t treated harshly at all.

It’s just that Zhang Nian was deaf and couldn't speak. He could only communicate with them with hems and haws, which ended up frightening them.

In hindsight, they realised that Zhang Nian never harboured malicious intentions towards them.

MC: What was Zhang Nian’s goal and what did he want to tell us? The answers to these riddles... they might be hidden here.

Gavin pushes the door open, and we step into Zhang Nian’s house.

Gavin: This place was sealed off since the incident, which is why the arrangement of furniture we’re looking at is the same as when he was still alive.

In contrast to the dim and cold space I had imagined, the living room is well lit.

The cream coloured wood flooring, a white cloth sofa, a simple wall painting of the ocean... all of these elements set off one another in the indolent afternoon sunlight, displaying a warm atmosphere.

MC: This place gives me such a strange feeling... the person who lived here must have really loved life...

Gavin: His fiancée decorated this place.

Gavin taps on a magnet on the refrigerator. Tiny colourful slips of paper are stuck underneath zebra, bunny, and elephant magnets.

“Special discount for wax gourds on Tuesday, special discount for pork ribs on Thursday.” - It’s as though the weekly booklet of discounts from the supermarket had been copied down.

“Invitation cards, wedding dress, decide on the hotel.” - The ring which had rolled onto the zebra crossing in the news immediately flashes across my mind.

Aside from that, they have simple recipes on them.

MC: What a pity. If that incident didn’t happen, they would have had a perfect life here.

Gavin: All the furnishings and decor came to a halt when the incident happened to Xu Wen. He did everything he could to retain traces of her existence. As for his own life...

Gavin opens the refrigerator, showing me that it’s more or less empty aside from condiments which had been used a few times.

White cold mist hover in the empty space, out of sync with the warm tones in the living room.

Gavin: This too.

He opens a wall cabinet to reveal a few boxes of ordinary flavoured cup noodles. The incandescent light in the cabinet is chilly, shining on plastic film surrounding the cup noodles.

Imagining the taste of cup noodles submerged in MSG, I once again turn towards the recipes stuck on the refrigerator.

Gavin shuts the cabinet, then points at the bedroom.

Gavin: MC, I want to show you something.

[ Chapter Two ]

Gavin: During the investigation, we found these.

Gavin guides me to the bookcase, then pulls open a drawer at the bottom.

MC: A disability ID, marriage certificate, graduation certificate, guarantee card for a hearing aid and a bank book...

Gavin: We checked his background. He grew up in an orphanage.

Gavin: Back then, the orphanage didn’t have adequate facilities, and didn’t have teachers or special medical setups for guiding people with hearing issues. He was always reclusive in the orphanage, and didn't have friends.

Gavin: When he was ten years old, people from the orphanage and community sent him to school.

While saying this, Gavin retrieves a pile of books from the drawer and shows them to me - they are all sketchbooks, and the pages have long since turned yellow. It’s evident that they were here for a very long time.

MC: He can draw?

Gavin: In these books, there are some sketches of streets and still life. Some are comics modelled after existing works. Although I don’t know much about art, I think he could draw pretty well.

While flipping through the pages, I find myself affected by the exquisite details conveyed in these drawings.

Perhaps because he didn’t go through systematic training, he wasn’t limited to one style in the way he expressed his art.

A distinct and unique style leaving a deep impression seems to break through the sheets of paper, revealing the emotions the artist had hidden in his heart.

MC: ...he must have been a really talented artist.

Gavin points at the wall - there’s a sketch hanging on it. It takes up almost half of the wall, and it’s mounted in a white frame.

MC: The person in the drawing is Xu Wen.

MC: ...it’s drawn really well.

Gavin releases a “mm”, and is unable to hold back a sigh.

Gavin: Extraordinarily well.

It doesn’t matter if it resembles the actual person. It doesn’t matter if it was meticulous or not.

The person in the drawing has her eyes curved upwards with a smile on her face, and she looks like any other young girl you can find in a crowd.

But the limitless gentleness and happiness contained in her eyes - that’s a unique feature belonging only to one person.

Gavin: They seemed to be schoolmates. I read through Xu Wen’s background - she graduated from the same school for deaf students. But there weren't any questionable points in this case, which is why we didn’t probe further. If you want to know the specifics, we'd have to investigate again.

My heart hovers in the air, wanting to figure out everything about this matter.

But from the STF’s perspective, this case is already closed...

Gavin gives me an affirmative gaze.

Gavin: I know what you're going to say. I want to continue listening to this story too. He wasn’t able to speak, but he left behind a voice that he hoped for others to hear.

After a pause, he turns his head, once again glancing at the drawing hanging on the wall.

Gavin: I can feel such emotions.

Gavin says this softly, and the light in his eyes grow deeper.

Floating dust in the surroundings gather on Xu Wen's portrait. We stand in this warm and tranquil space, as though we can sense their story surging forth without a sound.

[ Chapter Three ]

After this, Gavin and I gather information about Zhang Nian and Xu Wen from various sources.

A few days alter, we arrange to meet at a cafe to exchange materials collected from our individual investigations.

MC: I found the teacher from the school for deaf students. He said that when Zhang Nian first arrived at the school, he didn’t even know how to use sign language. He was gloomy and blue.

MC: Only Xu Wen knew how to converse with him, and would teach him sign language after school.

MC: After learning of his interest in drawing, she used her pocket money to buy him colouring pencils and drawing paper in secret without her parents’ knowledge.

MC: They had a pretty happy time in school. Zhang Nian even organised a small exhibition in school, and many teachers and students supported it.

MC: But after graduation, his days became a little more difficult.

He didn’t have a place to stay, and he couldn’t find work. While Xu Wen could rely on her parents for financial assistance, he could only rely on himself.

MC: During this time, Xu Wen seemed to have been using her parents’ money to buy him stationery for drawing, and even accompanied him to set up a stall for his paintings...

MC: But they couldn’t earn money at all.

Gavin opens a few files in front of me.

Gavin: Afterwards, he found a job in a finance company. He went around conducting financial transactions for people, and earned commissions based on the number of successful transactions.

Gavin: Not long after, this company was reported for illegal fund-raising. Both he and his boss were jailed for three years.

I recall seeing his ID from before - a crew cut and a white shirt along with a black suit which looked tidy and fitting.

Turns out he wasn’t working at a bank...

Gavin: Even during his time in jail, Xu Wen never gave up on him. She’d visit him every weekend and converse with him via sign language from across the glass.

Gavin: Of course, Zhang Nian behaved very well in jail, and gave his own drawings to many prison guards. After he was out of jail, he found a stable job.

Separated by the scorching 3pm afternoon sunlight, the gaze Gavin gives me is deep with a tranquil light.

Gavin: Do you know why he planned this kidnapping and handed you the video clip anonymously?

I shake my head. This has been my biggest question.

Gavin takes out a few photographs from the file.

Gavin: Before the case was closed, these documents couldn’t be disclosed to the public, which is why I didn’t tell you at the time.

I scrutinise one of the photographs - an A3-sized sheet of paper is stuck on a door, with a few lines written on it.

From the format of the digits, they appear to be bank account numbers.

Gavin: He was behind this door.

MC: Then these bank account numbers...

Gavin: We checked them.

He points at the first line of digits, then speaks calmly.

Gavin: The first account is for an animal treatment centre. It treats stray cats and dogs which meet with accidents.

Gavin: This one is for a 10 year old girl with hearing issues. She lives with a granny who sells fruits, and is currently saving money for surgery.

Gavin: The both of them had a habit of sending money to these accounts.

Gavin: Even though Zhang Nian continued sending money to them after Xu Wen passed away, he could only maintain his own livelihood with his income.

MC: What you’re saying is, if the video camera could capture this... and document them properly so that more people would know about them...

Perhaps he could help these people. Even if it was for the last time.

MC: ...but that was such a complex method. There was no need to do a good deed in such a roundabout manner, and even kidnap people to reach that goal.

Gavin silently picks up one of the photos from the table - it’s a note that Zhang Nian wrote before he committed suicide. A short message is written on it - It’s Wen Wen’s birthday today.

Gavin: Aside from that, he more or less did think of seeking revenge.

Gavin’s finger remains on the photograph.

Gavin: In Zhang Nian’s life, Xu Wen was the only one who gave him warmth. She was his lover.

Gavin: After losing such a person, it isn’t difficult to guess what kind of an attitude he had when facing this world, and facing the people who caused such an ending.

Gavin: When people are in pain, their hatred will involuntarily become amplified.

Gavin: From this perspective, at least he didn't take things even further.

Gavin’s voice is dull, as though he’s mulling over something, or affected by their misfortune.

I can’t help but reach across the table, gently bumping the tip of his finger with mine.

Silence permeates the air. He curls his finger slightly, hooking it around mine.

[ Chapter Four ]

The files, photographs, and a few scattered pages of a notebook are spread on the table randomly, as though illustrating their entire story in front of me.

The car accident was a tragedy, but it wasn’t the only tragedy. I find myself hesitating to speak. When I open my mouth, I sigh.

MC: Xu Wen was such a good person. She tugged onto him from beginning to end, and never gave up on him for a single moment. She actually managed to pull him out of the abyss.

Even though she couldn’t hear nor speak, she used her gentle gaze to heal the person she loved.

Gavin tidies the items on the table one by one, storing them properly.

His composed voice is mixed with ruefulness. He seems to be slightly moved, but has more or less come to terms with his emotions.

Gavin: From the perspective of an observer, there were many dismal and extreme traits in Zhang Nian’s personality. This is a point that can’t be denied.

Gavin: However, he was abandoned from the moment he was born. The path he walked on all these years, and the world that he saw - those are things we’d find difficult to relate with.

Gavin: Perhaps from the time he knew about the world, he realised that living was already something requiring courage.

Probably seeing such stories again and again when handling various cases, Gavin’s attitude is objective and calm.

Gavin: No matter what attitude he had when he made this decision, he shouldn’t have done so.

In contrast to the practised manner in which Gavin handles his emotions, I remain immersed in the regretful ending experienced by the two.

MC: Aside from her, he had nothing else.

The furniture, the recipes underneath the magnets, and the drawing hung on the wall... these images flash past me one by one.

MC: If I were the one who experienced this, and the only important person in my life was gone, I’d lose my connection with this world. Perhaps death would be a form of liberation.

Before I can finish speaking, Gavin raises his voice, cutting off my impending sigh.

Gavin: It wouldn’t.

He looks at me resolutely and decisively.

Gavin: No matter when, death will never be a form of liberation. Pain can always be treated.

Gavin: Whether it’s because someone important is no longer around, or if you were to lose contact with someone, it’s inevitable to carry some pain.

Gavin: Perhaps time is needed, and perhaps meeting a certain someone is needed, to gradually put an end to such pain, and to use various methods to put an end to such pain.

Gavin: But things will always get better.

Gavin seals the brown paper bag which is filled with materials related to Zhang Nian and Xu Wen, then places it at the corner of the table which has been warmed by the sun.

I watch as his palm presses against the paper bag, a moment of hesitation surging past his slightly lowered gaze. Almost at the same time, he looks up at me -

There’s only certainty in his eyes.

Gavin: No matter when, never give up on yourself. Xu Wen was constantly pulling him out of the abyss. He shouldn’t have given up like that.

[ Chapter Five ]

By the time Gavin and I walk out of the cafe, much of the sun’s heat has dispersed. Wind blows over from the river, and it’s refreshing and soothing.

Countless little flowers with names I’m unaware of bloom among the grass along the street, swaying in the evening breeze of midsummer.

MC: The weather is really nice today.

After sitting down for an entire afternoon, I can’t help but stretch, relaxing my shoulders and back.

Before I can take a few steps, I suddenly remember the moment I met Zhang Nian face-to-face, causing me to halt in my footsteps. He had walked towards me in a timid manner, a sincere and apologetic expression on his face.

He had handed me a letter, its edges creased from being pinched. Then, he turned away hurriedly before running away.

Too much time has passed. Even his Evol has lost its effectiveness.

Gavin senses that something is off about me, and draws a few steps closer. I wave my hand at him, signalling that I’m fine.

Having second thoughts, I can’t help but sigh with emotion.

MC: If only Zhang Nian was willing to contact me earlier and tell me about what exactly happened...

MC: If only I could tell him how nice today’s weather is. I wonder if he’d have made such a decision.

Gavin responds decisively from beside me.

Gavin: He wouldn’t.

Gavin: If someone told him that the weather would be nice today, he’d have definitely held on for a while longer.

Gavin: But he couldn’t always wait for someone to pull him along and bring him out of the abyss. He had to muster his courage and walk out by himself.

I nod quietly, gripping the notebook in my hand.

MC: Gavin, aside from the original plan for this episode, I think I’d need to add some new content...

Gavin halts in his footsteps, immediately reading the thoughts in my heart.

Gavin: Are you thinking about how there are many people in the world like Zhang Nian?

MC: Mm.

There are definitely some people who are shouldering pain alone, and are hesitating at the crossroads of life and death.

MC: Although this tragedy can no longer be salvaged, we could prevent even more tragedies from occurring.

I turn towards the direction of the river, looking afar at the boundless sky.

MC: I want to tell them about the beautiful scenery all around the world, and the beauty of the four seasons.

MC: Tell them about the colours of sunset, the sounds of the ocean...

MC: And tell them that as long as they’re willing to wait for a while longer, there are still people on earth who will love them.

MC: I want their eyes to be able to see the world that I see. I want them to believe that this world is always worth it.

Realising how overly idealistic and visionary my words are, I give Gavin a smile.

MC: ...I might have sounded too exaggerated.

Gavin: Nope. It will be a very meaningful show.

He suddenly reaches out, combing my hair which has been blown messy by the wind. His fingers linger on the ends of my hair for a long time.

The corners of his lips curl upwards slightly, and he brings me into his arms.

Gavin: Thank you.

Gavin: This world is always worth it.

His voice is far too soft. For a moment, I wonder if I misheard.

MC: What did you say? I couldn’t hear you clearly.

Gavin chuckles, then raises his volume.

Gavin: Since the weather’s pretty good, want to go for a drive?

MC: Did you drive here today?

Gavin: Mm. It’s rare to have such nice weather, so I took the car out for a drive.

MC: Wow~ That is rare. It’s been such a long time since I sat in Captain Gavin’s car.

Gavin takes my hand, striding with large steps as he leads me forward.

Gavin: Let’s go. The car’s in front.

- End -

Filming for the special episode of “Inquries” came to an end. When the final episode aired, the show became a trending topic. After watching it, many members of the audience provided assistance and support for organisations targeted at disabled individuals. Although Zhang Nian and Xu Wen have already left this world, they’ve enabled people who experience difficulties in life to obtain warmth. Such warmth continues to last. I guess being able to allow more people to believe that the world is worth loving, and to do what little they can to help those in need is what it means to be a person in the media industry.

More S2 content: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin

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a-nice-and-interpretive-fanzine · 3 years

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[ID: A cream-colored banner that says "A Nice and Interpretive Fanzine: essays and art about the meanings we've found in Good Omens." There is a photo of a book page with a key on it behind the banner text. The photo source is rosy_photo on Pixabay. /end ID]

A Nice and Interpretive Fanzine: Information Masterpost

Welcome!

This is a zine for those of us who love the subtle, complex work that is Good Omens, and who’ve enjoyed the thoughtfulness of the fandom as people interpret how the many moving pieces of the story come together, creating a slightly different meaning for each of us.

To put it simply, it’s a book full of the fandom’s own analysis and commentary about the Good Omens TV show, enhanced with illustrations from our brilliant artists.

This zine is analytical in the sense that all the writers are expressing their own nonfiction thoughts and feelings about the show, rather than writing fanfic, but it is not meant to be heavily academic. Anybody who likes to pick apart the series and discuss it should be able to enjoy it.

The zine will contain essays by fans who are passionate about analyzing and interpreting different parts of Good Omens - the characters, the plot, the writing techniques for the book and script, the cinematography of the TV show, the popular content of the fandom itself. Accompanying these essays will be black and white illustrations from our artists.

How are you organizing this process?

May 1-May 15: Everyone submits their application to do writing or art through a Google form. Behind the scenes, I’ll be setting up a separate email and Discord.

May 16-20: Applicants will be screened during this time.

May 20: I’ll email everyone to let them know the outcomes of their applications. The final participants will get a link to the Discord server for the zine (totally optional, of course).

May 21: If there’s any clarification or solidifying of ideas that needs to happen, I’ll contact you and discuss with you by this point. This is also when artists will be matched up with essays.

May 22 to August 14: This will be a period of just working on our essays and art. The Discord chat and Tumblr will be there for support and for exchanging ideas!

August 15: Participants need to email their full works to the zine’s email address by this date. No special formatting is needed; I’ll do that in InDesign.

August 15 to August 31: I’ll be putting the zine together in InDesign.

September 1: Preorders will open.

September 30: Preorders will close.

October 1: The zine order will be placed!

October 15: Assuming all goes well with printing and shipping, the zines will be shipped out in waves starting on this date. If the printing or shipping from the manufacturer is delayed, then shipping will just start ASAP.

Writer Application HERE Artist Application HERE Asked and Answered Questions on Tumblr The Fanzine's Page on Twitter

Read below for more detailed information about the zine in a Q and A format!

What are the specifications for the zine contributions?

For writers, I’m starting with 3k words or fewer per essay (approximately 10 pages at the size of this book). This depends heavily on how many participants we actually get, so it may change!

For artists, I’d be looking at black and white works, 300 DPI, 5.5 x 8.5 inches or smaller. If your art is supposed to fill up the entire page (i.e. no white space), please make it a total of 5.75 x 8.75 inches with nothing too important around the edges to account for bleed during the printing process.

Can I submit an essay to this zine if I’ve already posted it on Tumblr?

Not as you’ve already posted it. We don’t want to just copy/paste the exact thing that hundreds or perhaps even thousands of people have already read.

However, it IS fine and maybe even a good idea to take the same thought from your post and refine it, preserving your same thesis. For example, a lot of Tumblr posts are just us fans jotting down 5 or 6 paragraphs of random thoughts at 2 AM, but some of them are really cool thoughts! Expanding them and turning them into a bona-fide Essay would make those posts into excellent zine chapters. And you can copy small pieces of your own language as long as the whole thing isn’t just pasted word-for-word.

How long do essays have to be? Is there a limit?

With the number of writers we have, I've calculated that each person should ideally keep their essay to about 6000 words. There is wiggle room.

There’s no real minimum for your contribution; some analytical ideas are really good but can be expressed concisely, so it’s okay if your essays only come out to a few pages typed. For reference, with our book size, a page is about 300 words.

What happens if the zine sells a lot and you end up not only breaking even, but turning a profit?

It’ll go to charity. While I’ll ask the participants what they want to do for certain if we do make enough money, my suggestion will be donating it to Alzheimer’s Research UK in honor of Sir Terry Pratchett.

I’m not really comfortable calling this a “charity zine” up front since I simply don’t know if it will raise a significant amount. For the most part, I just want the thing to physically exist, which means breaking even, and don’t want to make it more expensive for buyers than it needs to be to afford the printing costs.

What kinds of essays are you talking about? What could be included?

In short, any analytical thoughts about the Good Omens TV show - and possibly even the fandom as it interacts with the show - are possible inclusions for the zine.

To expand a bit, think about the meta posts you see floating around Tumblr. Often these involve analyzing characters, or picking up on patterns in the plot. Sometimes fans use their own background knowledge to write posts about the significance of certain costume choices or the way music plays into each individual scene. Some posts examine the ways the series approaches gender, while others might discuss ways that the characters present as neurodivergent. That’s how diverse the pool of possibilities is for subjects in this zine.

How does art come into this?

Images will be black and white, to match the bookish mood of the project overall. Images can range in size from a half page to a full page.

I’m planning to talk to the artists and authors and loosely pair artists with essays that appeal to their personal interests.

I know how to illustrate a story, but how do I illustrate an essay?

There are infinite answers to this! I’ve seen some beautiful symbolic artwork in the fandom already (e.g. a number of takes on Aziraphale munching on an apple with Crowley in snake form curving around him), and there are tons of symbolic motifs to draw from, but these are not the only options. An artist illustrating an essay about cinematography, for example, could draw a well-known scene from an alternative angle. An essay about Heaven as a capitalist corporation could be illustrated with a cartoon of Gabriel giving some sort of excruciating PowerPoint presentation. A character analysis could be accompanied by a simple portrait. And on and on. I’m not interested in limiting the possibilities by trying to make a list, but just know that there are many and you don’t have to make it complicated if you don’t want to.

If the writers can reuse their essay ideas, can artists reuse their drawings?

Similarly to the writers, if you already have an interpretive drawing that you’re in love with, artists can use the same ideas and the same fundamental composition that is present in their own existing work. However, it has to be redone in some significant way. Whether it’s taking something you drew in 2019 and redrawing it using an updated style, taking a sketch and turning it into a lined and shaded piece, or redoing a full-color drawing so it presents more strikingly in black and white, it shouldn’t be identical to the thing you’ve already posted.

So how are you choosing participants here?

It’ll be based on what people are interested in writing about (or illustrating). I’ll be looking for people who are passionate about their essays, but I’ll also be looking for variety. It all depends on what people want to offer, so I won’t know for sure what it will look like put together until everyone’s application is in.

For artists, I’ll be trying to figure out whose style looks like it would adapt well to illustrations in black and white, and also who demonstrates an interest in the same subjects as the writers.

If we don’t get a lot of applicants, I’d love to simply include everyone, but I can’t commit to that without knowing for sure how many people are involved.

Do I have to use a formal writing style to participate?

No. You should use a style that makes your thoughts and ideas as clear as possible, but as long as it’s understandable, you can also get a little artistic with it. You can “write like you speak,” though perhaps in a more organized way. You definitely don’t need to worry about stylistic rules like not using the first person. This is not academia.

Is this zine going to center only on Crowley and Aziraphale?

That remains to be seen! It depends on what ideas show up in the applications. There will be a lot of the ineffable partners for sure, but whether the whole zine will center on them or whether there’s plentiful stuff about other characters will depend on what the participants suggest.

Do we have to agree with all your personal interpretations of Good Omens to be in the zine?

No! In fact, I’m assuming that a number of essays will contradict each other, too, and that’s perfectly okay. The zine is a sampler of fan interpretations meant to inspire, not instruct. It’s not “Here’s a fan-made guide on how to understand this TV show,” it’s “Look at all these moving parts and how many meanings we can find in them. What does it mean to you?”

However, there are some basic rules and assumptions by which I’m working here.

I don’t personally have the energy to include essays that are highly critical (“negative”) in this zine. It’s analytical but also meant to be fun.

I’m pretty focused on the TV adaptation. This isn’t “no book analysis allowed” but just that the essays will end up being weighted toward subjects that apply to either the TV show or both the book and the show.

Each writer should focus on making their own points over disproving other fan interpretations. If you’re writing in an expository style, it’s normal for the essay to contain rebuttals to opposing ideas, but these should be minor supporting points, not the heart and soul of your essay. For reference, I’d say the majority of meta I see floating around on tumblr would follow this rule just fine.

Essay ideas that seem to contain bigoted or exclusionary sentiments will not be accepted (no TERFy stuff, for example).

What kinds of editing will go into the zine? Are you going to argue with us about the contents of our writing?

While I might ask you to elaborate on certain points in your writing or clarify your thoughts about your subject, I’m absolutely not here to ask you to change the thesis, opinions, or headcanons on which your writing is based. If I really have a problem with your initial idea, I’ll tell you that up front and politely decline the contribution.

While formatting the zine, I’ll make minor edits if I think I see a typo or misspelling, something small and obviously unintentional. As with any other zine, your content won’t be changed without consulting you.

Is this a SFW zine?

Yes. If people want to discuss sexuality in a theoretical way, like erotic subtext, that would be allowed. There are canon references like Newt and Anathema’s moment under the bed that might come up, too. But there will be nothing explicit, and since these are essays instead of stories, there will be no “action” going on between characters. Let’s just say sex isn’t a forbidden topic, but it will be like discussing it in English class.

As for other topics that could make the zine NSFW, like gore or extreme language, I don’t think they will be an issue. Some dark topics, like abuse by Heaven and Hell, may be discussed, but they will be warned for, and these are not stories, so you aren’t going to see violent actions playing out.

Will there be any “extras” like charms or stickers?

I’m not sure yet. I’m most inclined to keep it simple, because of the nature of the zine, but would be open to including some bonus items if there’s an artist who’s really passionate about it.

With that said, I am pretty committed to making a hardcover edition of the book available, in addition to the standard softcover version.

You’re doing this with only one mod?!

Yes. I personally find it easiest. While I’ve worked on multi-mod projects in other domains and adore all of my co-mods, it’s a little bit different when it’s a project with this many moving pieces that includes real-life components like printing and shipping. Though there are a lot of individual things to be done, I am experienced with all of them, so it’s less overwhelming to just take on the whole project. That way, I know exactly what needs to be done and when, and there are no issues with assigning tasks.

What qualifies you to run this zine?

The résumé answer: in fandom, I successfully solo-modded a large not-for-profit zine in the past, the @soulmakazine2018, and while I can’t speak for the whole fandom, it definitely seemed to be well-received. <3 In real life, I’m a case manager and this involves coordinating and communicating with a lot of different people including my 100-person caseload, budgeting services, and filling out all kinds of paperwork on the fly, all skills that can be imported into zine work.

The practical answer: well, I’m the one who decided to start this project, so if you like the sound of it, you're stuck with me. I say with encouragement and enthusiasm that if you’d like to do a different take on a commentary zine, you should absolutely do it.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #fanzine #good omens zine

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papikakashikahn · 2 years

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FIXATED

An Andrew Garfield/ Peter Parker x Reader fanfic

Chapter 4

Summary: This story is a serval (ongoing) chapter work about Andrew garfield’s peter Parker struggling to balance pursuing a higher education at NYU as well as being spiderman. In meeting Y/N he’s encouraged to become a different person, but he feels guilty in doing so especially after the death of his first love four years ago to his hands. Slow burn

Y/N POV

I tugged on the strap of my bag while heading back to my dorm. I barely got to work on my homework, staying at the writing lab for so long. Usually I minded staying longer than I had to, but this particular day for some reason I wasn’t as bothered. I spent a good two hours with Peter, helping him to edit his essay. I was probably left unbothered because it didn’t really feel as much of a drag as it did editing other peoples paper. Usually it was awkward… well… in a way it was with Peter… but at least not in the awkward silence way. He was actually quite talkative once you got to know him. Nevertheless, I mean awkward in the way he acted. Awkward actually is a little too harsh of a word… either way it was cute… not cute he’s just a classmate.

Walking past the common lounge of the dorm I paused to a stop as the group of students who usually crowd around the TV at this time were especially loud. Even before glancing at the TV I knew what they were so excited about. On the news was a live broadcast of Spiderman swinging from the Chrysler building. There seemed to be always something for Spiderman to do around New York and thus always something for the news broadcast to air. Of course everyone wondered who it was underneath that mask that was doing all of these amazing things, myself included. Nevertheless these college kids and the rest of the world seemed a little too invested in WHO spiderman is underneath that mask… so much so that it felt weird to include myself in these miniature fanclub formations for him.

I pressed forward to my dorm room as I had homework to do. Walking up the stairs two girls rushed past me with our shoulders colliding. I looked over my shoulder at them in disbelief. Barley paying me any mind they muttered a sorry to me before continuing on with their conversation, something about “him being on”, Spiderman i’m sure they were referring to. They rushed to the lounge TV without a care.

This is more of what I was talking about. There seemed to be a big trend to be obsessed with all things spiderman, so much so that it’s become integral to American culture, but especially New York culture. They seemed more obsessed with the idea of spiderman and the intreguire behind him rather than what he stands for.

Annoyed, I pulled out my ID to swipe into my room, utterly exhausted from the day. However, as if I wasn’t already done with life, my ID started acting up as per usual.

“Y/N!” a familiar but somewhat unwelcomed voice called to me.

Of course at the most convenient times too this shit never works.

I forced a smile over to my neighbor, Emily, who was one actually the president of the real Spiderman fan club here at NYU.

She rushed over to me with an excited look about her, but I had a feeling what about. One could say I have some spidey sense of my own.

“Y/N did you see the news!? Spiderman saved a puppy from a burning building!” she exclaimed. “What a saint,” I muttered in return, flipping my ID the other way to see if that would get me out of this badgering.

“Come to the lounge it’s on the tv!” she urged while tugging my arm away from my dorm.

I flinched while trying to stand my ground, “I wish I could Emily but I have to finish this essay” I replied. Emily rolled her eyes at me but let me go. “Fine. But I’m still mad at you… don’t think I forgot about your promise to me” she said, crossing her arms.

I sighed at her comment. She remembered that I didn’t return her detergent, didn't she? Well unfortunately I used it all.

I smiled at her sheepishly trying to play off my guilt.

“Don’t act dumb Y/N, you promised you’d come to the club yesterday, why didn’t you?” she questioned poking my arms.

I widened my eyes in realization.

Oh… that promise…

I pressed my lips. “I-I’m sorry Emily… I was… doing my… laundry…” I uttered out, lost in my lies. However, Emily was not having it. She pointed her finger at me in shame.

“Well you’re lucky I'm a forgiving neighbor, but I better see you there next Tuesday! Until then, read the article we’ll have out tomorrow on the puppy situation, I wrote it myself” she finished with a smile, hurrying away to the lounge.

I nodded my head and swiped into the room which finally opened for me.

Closing it behind me I leaned against the door, letting out a sigh of relief. Emily was a sweet girl, very generous and talkative. A good dorm neighbor, especially considering she let's me borrow her detergent and an even better neighbor for forgetting it in the first place.

I threw my bag on the bed and sat in my desk chair, turning on my tv to see the news.

I curled up in the chair, hugging my knees.

I didn’t have anything against the spider guy. I wasn’t opposed to going to Emily’s club nor admitting that saving a puppy from a burning building was a good thing. Infact, there was something about him that made me admire him. Something about a spiderman existed that made me feel safe. Rather, it was the crowd mentality that turned me majorly off from supporting him…publicly. Plus the public’s obsession with knowing who was under the mask was detrimental. I mean, in finding out who is under the mask that takes away the mystery and sense of an inhuman protector that the mask provides. Obviously there was a guy under there, but finding out who and what he looked like and what he did during the day, all these boring things about humans would take away from the magic and power that spiderman brought about… at least that was my take.

I clicked to a different channel with the remote, bothered by the footage of the spotlights on the web slinger. I had an essay to finish.

In opening on my laptop and opening another essay of mine I couldn’t help but think of Peter. For what reason I didn’t know why. Sometimes I caught myself looking at him from across the room in English, but until today I could only pass off thinking about him later in the day because he was cute. Being around him today and in talking to him, witnessing first hand how naturally funny he was, there was something about him besides his looks that made him more self-conscious of everything I was doing.

That moment when the paper stuck to his fingers, however, was weird I had to admit. But I think it just added to his character for me at the moment. I shook my head to focus on the task at hand. I had an essay to write rather than thinking about some random guy from class, especially one who failed a paper.

#spiderman #spidermanxreader #the amazing spider man #andrew garfield #andrewgarfieldxreader #fixated

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essential-randomness · 2 years

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i entered a solid like 5 days to a week where creating a ethical social media app with useful /enjoyable features was constantly looping in mind. i think on of the more interesting ideas i had was having a system sortve based on the structure of tumblr + pinterest blogs combined, where you can have 'sorting tags' you put on a reblogged post so that it goes in a certain section of your blog. so the blog would be normal tumblr style, but you could also easily scroll through the sorting tags for like, 'avengers' or 'anime' or some shit, and you could also follow that sorting tag instead of the entire blog. id also think thisd help for stuff like posting comics/ stories /au ideas you post once in a while, so if i had a steven universe comic that i posted weekly, and didnt want to make a whole seperate blog just so people could read it easily and get updates easily, i could tag it #sucomic or something and people cpuld put notifications on just for that tag. i havent actually looked thru much of the bobaboard stuff yet, so idk if this is applicable at all, but id definitely love for this to be on tumblr.

So one thing I should premise anything BobaBoard with, is that its initial inception phase is as mainly a community software (think a mixture of public Discord servers with a more Tumblr & LJ/DW & Old Forums format + a dash of a lot of other social stuff). There's a lot of reasons I'm starting from this use case, and they'll likely be their own post at some point so I'll avoid ranting about that for now.

The medium-term plan is to also allow a more "personal blog" experience connected to it, with the caveat that I'm pretty much set on not forcing people to have their own blog on Boba, but instead want to use open social protocols (e.g. ActivityPub or RSS) so they can fully own their data and content. Ideally, Tumblr blog themselves should be part of this, since they allow RSS. How to make this easy is part of the exploratory work I'm doing that Boba is a starting point of. Regardless, I do believe people will end up using "Realms" (a BobaBoard concept that roughly maps to a Discord server) as personal "bases", and I also expect to port many of the concepts to any "personal blog" solution I end up creating.

(ok this is getting long, read more time)

With that premise, something that Boba does differently from other socials and I think is relevant here is having multiple types of tags. There's a special kind of tag called "category tag" that allows you to categorize posts/threads for your own use, without conflating that with global search. This is the sidebar of our !brains board, for example, and you can see some categories we added on the side (these sections are customizable, so you can choose what to highlight):

When you click on those, you can see only threads that have been tagged with that category in that particular board. I expect that when I implement personal spaces, they're going to have a similar functionality.

Letting people follow only some combinations of categories+boards (or categories within threads, even) is definitely in the roadmap. I'm mostly focusing on the posting/community experience and leaving the design and implementation of the searching/following experience for later. After all, if no one likes using the site, no one will have any use for searching content on it. The design of search and follow features is extremely important, so I'm waiting to learn more from how people use Boba before going deep into it. And, also, as I mentioned I have a particular interest in open protocols, and I fully intend to explore how we can leverage those to have a good search experience that allows people to create independent realms, boards and blogs and own their own data. It will take time.

Another thing Boba does, is that it has "threads" as a central concept, rather than just posts. Threads can be visualized in many different ways, including "gallery" which is more visually-oriented. Various types of thread visualizations are fairly experimental now, but I expect more will be added with time. Anyway, this is our one of our galleries on our !thirst board:

(Boobies—that's our official name for BobaBoard users—do love their Luigis)

So if you had a webcomic and wanted to update it in BobaBoard, I can see a few different ways that could eventually materialize. Again I think how that will work best is something people will show me with time, rather than something I fully know at this stage. It will depend a lot on how certain features get implemented, which in turn will depend a lot on how I see people using the site itself. If there's something this year+ testing Boba taught me, is that people use things way differently than you initially imagine, so there's a lot of value in waiting and seeing rather than deciding upfront.

#it's infodump time #god i love infodumping #this is not even 15% of the thoughts i have on this lmao #i also fully expect people to make their own boba skins when it's more stable #but like with everything i'm going slow and making sure what i build is sustainable before i promise the moon

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dreamerwriternstargazer · 4 years

Text

In Defence of Team Purple Lion

Voltron: Legendary Defender and its final season remains as one of the most poorly received children’s shows in the past decade. The show was a reboot from DreamWorks of the popular Voltron franchise owned by WEP LLC (World Event Productions) who were responsible for the first version of the show Voltron: Defender Of The Universe (1984), an adaptation of the anime show GoLion by Toei Animation. It initially started strong when released in 2016, with a premise that of a typical mech-centric kids’ show; 5 pilots of 5 robot lions coming together to form one big robot (Voltron) to fight against a big bad alien villain in space, however despite the formulaic appearance it proved to be a captivating watch with detailed and beautiful animation as well as surprisingly deep subject matter. The themes and messages of the show touched on darker topics such as racism and genocide with the backdrop of a complex portayal of war while still balancing it with the light-hearted and goofy dynamics of the diverse main characters, played by a diverse cast. Produced by Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, both of whom had worked on the acclaimed Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend Of Korra, the story set up promised an equally deep and intricate story for VLD as had been the case for ATLA and LoK, as a result the show attracted a large and varied fan base beyond just children, many fans adults eager to see how the story and darker themes would be resolved as well as how the minority representations would be treated.

The final season released on Dec 14th 2018 came as a great shock to fans, not only were they intensely dissatisfied with the ending, virtually no one from any area or sub fandom was happy with the season as a whole and at the time of this article’s writing it has lower than a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show and its producers faced massive criticism over insensitive representations of minorities, an unsympathetic and condemning end for an abuse victim despite redemption for their abusers and a disempowering arc for the main woman of colour character in which she was sidelined and dismissed by her male counterparts up until her sacrifice. The core themes and messages of love, forgiveness and acceptance regardless of race were completely subverted, instead conveying to an impressionable Y-7 and above audience the opposite; heritage and race define a person rather than their own actions. As well as fans, many parents of kids who watched the show expressed unhappiness with the final season due to the toxic and regressive messages it sent. Soon after the season dropped a petition emerged to “free the original season 8 of Voltron” due to the belief that the final season was in fact an edited product of what the creators originally planned. This belief was sparked by visual inconsistencies in the season itself, the audio description not lining up with the action on screen (now fixed), one character not being played by her voice actor but her voice actually another character’s with the pitch turned up as well as comments from the cast and animators, now deleted. The strongest claims of edits were made by Tumblr user Leaking Hate in her initial meta Chasing The Ghosts Of Season 8 and the follow up, a more detailed breakdown, Seek Truth In Darkness in which she presented an alternative story that had been edited and cut down for reasons then unknown, with narrative and visual evidence from the season itself to support her argument. She and a few other fans officially came together in February 2019 to form Team Purple Lion, a team of analysts dedicated to finding the truth behind the disaster of the final season. However, since the fandom had had a poor history of harassing the show’s creators over ships (romantic relationships between characters) most attributed the poor story and resolve to an attempt to keep things neutral romantically between characters in a poor bid to please everyone. As a result the petition and campaign were merely linked to lack of shipping satisfaction for the fandom and dismissed as more toxic fandom behaviour that had been displayed previously by many fans.

Petitions and campaigns like these are not uncommon after a show or film’s ending, similar situations might be the HIMYM backlash in which fans were so unhappy with the ending of the show that there was a petition for an alternative ending, as well as the petition to Warner Bros regarding the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Both of these have actually succeeded with the Snyder cut of Justice League set to release in 2021 and the HIMYM DVD box sets containing the alternative ending, however what makes the Free VLD s8 campaign now led by Team Purple Lion unique is its claim that there’s an original finished product that the creators intended for release but was edited after completion to produce the poor final season that was released on Netflix. Often corporate meddling in creative works is common but it has not been documented before as a post production occurrence changing the finished work, it’s always taken place pre-production as was the case with Disney and Colin Trevorrow’s original script for ep. IX or during production, in the case of Justice League and Zak Snyder.

Since the start of the campaign in Dec 2018 there’s been continuous investigation and action taken by TPL to provide proof for their claims and the movement has evolved into a fight for creators’ rights, still active now a year and a half on. Their investigation early on resulted in discovering the IP holder (those who own the trademark) WEP as the ones with control over the show and therefore responsible for the released edited season 8. They’ve since defended DreamWorks and the showrunners from criticism in favour of requesting WEP and specifically President Robert Koplar, self proclaimed “steward of the property” for the original season 8 by the showrunners that was not released. There’s also been strong advocation from TPL to keep the protest against WEP’s interference with the creative team’s work peaceful to avoid dismissal and belittlement due to prior instances of the VLD fandom’s toxic behaviour that often included harassment of showrunners and toxic fan behaviour ranging from abusive remarks online to death threats, after the final season rumours were flying and the EPs faced abuse from upset fans so there was an active effort to stay civil on TPL’s part.

TPL and the #FreeVLDS8 movement has continuously faced criticism and backlash since its start regardless, the response from fellow fans ranging from supportive to downright disbelief and even the showrunners stating publicly [March 28th 2019 Let’s Voltron podcast] that there’s no “alternate cut of Voltron” branding the idea as a “conspiracy theory”. Claims of harassment have been attributed to TPL and the legitimacy of their allegations questioned, one fan questioning the possibility of the edits’ execution as well as others categorizing them as fans creating a theory based on shipping fulfillment. The controversy and consistent campaign a year and a half on interested me greatly, therefore after being led back to the movement by the very comments discrediting them I approached Team Purple Lion for comment on the aforementioned claims as well as conducting my own research and investigation into them. 3 members of the team, Crystal Rebellion, Dragon Of Yang and Leaking Hate spoke to me openly about their campaign and my own research produced some interesting results as well.

The basis of their argument is set on the show’s final season being an edited product, when I asked about what pushed her to this conclusion and writing her initial meta Leaking Hate explained that a mutual friend of Crystal and her’s drew their attention to it through the story saying:

“It’s interesting, nearly ALL of the episodes had a moment or two in them where Lotor [male villain] COULD have reappeared, and didn’t. Do you think he was written in to be the savior all along, and it was the higher ups that said no, good boy Lance [one of the main characters]? It seems like, given the narrative, and even given this season, it should have been Lotura [Lotor and Allura ship name], and all that wasn’t just feels… off. And not as a Lotura stan, I mean in general.”

“And YES I had. There was a narrative gap where Lotor should have fit, but for some reason wasn’t.” Hate said, “The initial conclusion we jumped to was that Lotor had been removed in the writing stage.”

It wasn’t until another friend mentioned a key scene out of place in the story and she went back to view it that she started to suspect the season had been changed from its original state. The scene in question was one in which Lotor says “Follow me!” at the end of Allura’s dream sequence in s8 ep8 Clear Day, despite his death being established before and after this point in the story. “There was no reason for that Follow Me shot to be there,” Hate explained, “unless the action of the viewer following Lotor had been removed.” Having studied a Fine Art degree and therefore well versed in animation and visual art she was able to recognise scenes that had been edited unusually throughout the season once she actively searched for other visual evidence. The Follow Me scene as well as others she found are displayed in her Ghosts meta, all indicating a different story from the one told in the show, along with the evidence Leaking Hate presented some initial ideas on what the story was (a redemption arc for Lotor and several sub arcs for the main characters that resolved their stories and previously set up story beats).

[Image Description: A close up of Prince Lotor’s face from season 8 on Netflix, staring directly out of the picture at the viewer. There are subtitles showing his speech at the bottom of the image, saying “Follow me!” End ID]

After Team Purple Lion’s formation Leaking Hate went on to publish a part two to her initial Ghosts meta, a 21k word meta entitled Seek Truth In Darkness which contained all visual evidence of edits found in the season as well as an extrapolation of the initial story indicated by said edits. The original story appeared to resolve unfinished narratives and arcs that the released s8 dismissed and the treatment of the representations in the show better, from respect towards minorities to an empowering arc for Allura, the main female character. Despite the original season having a more positive story, negative feedback from fans has been more common than positive. When I questioned the team members on it Leaking Hate mentioned “most people who believe we’re wrong tend to think we’re wrong in our premise” Dragon of Yang confirming that “it’s usually the premise of “VLD was edited after completion” that people disagree with”. However the screenshots they present as visual evidence hint at some truth in their argument, the first screen cap shown below indicative of some poor edits made to the animation since 3 characters are essentially cropped out of the picture.

Likewise this screen cap shows a split screen visually unbalanced with 2 characters at the bottom partially cropped out as well as the character on the left side with a much larger screen space than the other characters.

[Image description: A split screen from season 8 on Netflix, featuring from left to right: top left Shiro, below him is Keith in a larger section and Allura in a small triangular section below and to the right of Keith’s section. In the middle is a section showing Honerva’s mech stabbing the Voltron-Atlas mech with purple lightning shooting out. On the top right is Hunk, below him is Pidge, and below her the top half of Lance’s face. End ID]

Seasons prior to the final had always had visually balanced split screens with each character centred in their frames appropriately, indicating these and other s8 shots like them as an anomaly.

Hate reconstructed both screencaps based on what she believed they were originally:

[Image description: A split-screen from season 8 on Netflix, featuring from left to right: an Altean pilot, Merla, Keith, Hunk’s shoulder, Pidge, the top half of Allura’s face, and the top half of Lance’s face. On the top, right, and bottom of this screencap is dark pink background with the black lines of the split-screen extending to the edges of the colors, marking out where the rest of Hunk, Allura, and Lance should be visible if the view had not been cropped. With the lines extending out, Keith’s portion of the screen is also extended, leaving a completely removed section of the split-screen remaining, which is highlighted purple in this image. End ID]

[Image description: A split-screen from season 8 on Netflix, featuring from left to right: top left Shiro, below him is Keith, below and to the right of Keith is Allura in a small triangle section, the bottom of her face slightly cut off. In the middle is a section showing Honerva’s mech stabbing the Voltron-Atlas mech with purple lightning shooting out. On the top right is Hunk, below him is Pidge, and below her the top half of Lance’s face. On the left, right and bottom of the screencap is a dark pink background with the black lines of the split-screen extending to the edge of the colours, marking out where the rest of Lance and Allura should be visible if the view had not been cropped. Keith’s portion of the screen is smaller and a small dark pink section to the right separates his portion from the middle. Below him where his portion originally extended to is a section coloured dark purple that extends a little further to the left of Allura’s portion. End ID]

Other noticeable examples include scenes with the female lead Allura where her proportions do not match with any prior drawings of herself indicating that she was another character redrawn, Leaking Hate suggested Lotor as his proportions fit each instance.

[Image description: 2 pictures of Allura in the Blue Lion from a front and centre angle side by side. On the left Allura has her eyes closed and her arms stretched out holding onto the controls, the entire cockpit is glowing blue. On the right Allura’s eyes are open with a determined look on her face, she’s slightly hunched with her arms gripping the controls, the cockpit is coloured normally. End ID]

The image on the left is of Allura from s8 ep13 and the one on the right from the same episode a few minutes later, scaled so the interiors (which are unchanging 3D models) are the same size. She is notably taller in the one on the right with her head reaching above the seat and her frame bigger, with wider shoulders and thighs.

These are just a few out of the many examples of edits made that Leaking Hate presents in her metas along with her reconstruction of the original season based on what each edit indicates. While the reconstruction is to some point subjective, the visual inconsistencies are clear and can be easily checked by watching the show at each point said to be edited.

The timeframe and possibility for the edits’ execution, called into question by a fan on a twitter thread (now deleted) stating “it’s not physically possible to make that many edits in 2 months and with leftover budget”, was also addressed by the team and their work. Leaking Hate clarified that “it wasn’t 2 months” that they took place in, “it was 6. The edits began in mid July”, a fact determined by voice actor Jeremy Shada mentioning in an interview released on July 23rd that he had gone in to record new lines at the time. Hate also said, “It’s less of a question of would they have time than it is, well. They did do it. It was nearly impossible. But the fact that it is done shows that they did.” She went on, “I think people misunderstand when we claim it was ‘edited’. They hear “it was reanimated”, but it wasn’t reanimated. There is NO new animation in the edited s8 at all. As far as I can tell, 99% of the edits are composed of tracing, clever cuts and sleight of hand.” This is backed up by all the visual evidence they present as well as their work, claiming absence of animation (making the story disjointed and incoherent in places) rather than new, additional animation changing it.

Crystal Rebellion added, “One thing that strikes us (I feel pretty confident speaking for everyone in this case) is that Studio Mir [responsible for animating the show] is impeccably flawless with their work. Their previous work before Voltron: Legendary Defender, and even Seasons 1-6 and most of 7 are beautifully animated. Stunning. Season 8... is not. Studio Mir also had a viewing party for VLD: S8 - and they reported that they loved the final product; so the animators saw Season 8 after it was completed. The season, however, that aired, was really shoddy animation, rough transitions, music mistakes, and what appear to be alterations to still images - it isn't their usual quality of work, and moreover, the animators have stated that they don't recognize what aired. Often we've been asked something like 'Maybe they just didn't know what scenes they were animating' or 'Didn't know the intended finished product' but in this case, it is documented that they saw the final season and that it's different from what was aired. The poor workmanship in what we see from S8 - all the edits Hate goes through to find and explain, coupled with Mir's disbelief, is indicative that the animation studio had no idea this happened. That means it 1) Happened post-production and 2) It wasn't the Studio that changed anything. Dos Santos mentions in an interview [March 4th ABTV] that they were cut and pasting mouths and moving frames around - no time, no budget, and no staff left. It was all them, after it had been completed - after Mir had seen the original rendition and loved it, that all this happened. The parallel point to that to further support it is, had this been written in the script from the beginning, we would've seen a flawlessly animated season with a painful storyline. We don't see that.”

Although Mir’s reaction to the season they viewed in October (before its official drop) has since been deleted, one animator’s response to the season 8 that was released on Netflix is still online, comparing the show to a house and stating that “every single brick of the last season is very upsetting” but “everything else is good” (translation can be found here), making it clear he was not pleased with the final product. Joaquim Dos Santos does also mention in the interview Crystal references that changes were made to season 8 after season 7 dropped, stating, “You can probably see it in the animation. If you really pay attention it’s like, it’s literally our editor cutting out mouths and puppeting different dialogue.” It’s documented that the epilogue was added to s8 late after s7 dropped however it does not have any dialogue, this statement paired with Shada’s about “still recording on Voltron” begs the question, what change was made besides the epilogue? Hate shows in her Darkness meta that Shada’s character Lance was used to replace Lotor as well as Allura in key scenes, if Shada was still recording lines (unusual since audio recording is done very early in animation production) then it would have been for these moments.

Not all criticism has been based on the editing premise however; the story they present as the original has garnered negative comments as well since it featured Lotor, a divisive character due to his moral ambiguity and previous condemnation as a killer, and predominantly focused on his redemption as well as relationship with Allura. The narrative makes it clear that Lance, the blue paladin and one of the main characters popular with fans, would not have been the focus as he was in the released season and would have been replaced by Lotor as Allura’s partner. When I brought up the claims of bias in their reconstruction Leaking Hate pondered on it.

“Do I love the story because it is Lotura, or do I love Lotura because the story makes me love it?” she mused, “I think it's all the same. I was able to pick out the original story because of my bias in favour of Lotor, Allura, and Lotura. Had I not been invested in those characters, and that ship, I would have had no reason to look. I am not reconstructing based on wish fulfillment, or what I want to see,” she asserted, “but the story I am finding happens to be a story that I love.” In regards to Lance and her analysis on him she stated bluntly, “I HATE Lance. Were I reconstructing based on wish fulfillment I would have him alone and miserable. But that is not a good story. The real story of OGS8 has Lance coming to love himself and to learn to accept Allura's friendship as equally worthy as her romantic affection. It has him grow into a good man, and it has him become Allura's right hand when he helps her save the man she loves. It is an uplifting and wholesome message for little boys and grown men alike. And I think it is equally important that we save S8 for Lance as it is that we save it for Lotor and Allura.” When I mentioned that some would find her dislike of Lance an argument against her she also added that “they are right to.”

“I would not trust someone claiming to have found the 'real' story if I knew they hated Lotor or Allura.” However she admitted, “I don't hate him all the time. I think, if the Lance we get in OGS8 is the Lance I believe is there, then I will find him tolerable, if irritating.”

While it’s true that Hate is critical of Lance and his character, the reconstructed story she presents in Seek Truth does reflect her words, giving him an empowering and sympathetic arc growing from his previous immature and womanising character into a selfless, respectful friend. The team have also put their efforts into creating and realising the story in their reconstruction of the original s8, Rise and Atone, and so far it has stayed true to what they’ve promised, addressing characters and their arcs, the only deviation made being a romance free conclusion in a bid to stay ship-neutral. Dragon of Yang explained the narrative decisions they made with R&A stating clearly, “If this was wish fulfillment, we would have stopped at one detail or another. Every character’s arc was halted and destroyed beyond reconciliation or catharsis. Every character deserves their story to be done justice, and open-endings give that catharsis VLD originally had while remaining respectful to everyone’s shipping preferences. VLD is a story of hope and growth, to deny that a character has grown since day 1 is to deny that there is a story there to be told, and that in turn denies a person out there - who likely identifies with that character - the feeling of being seen. The best thing we can do as scholars and as activists,” she concluded, “is try to recreate the vision the staff had originally made and do so with care and attention to the work they put into every line.”

As for the harassment claims attributed to Team Purple Lion by both fans and The Voltron Store on twitter, there’s not much to support them, and in fact a great deal to disprove them. The team has maintained a level of professionalism in both their work and in their conduct online, consistently citing sources and providing proof for claims as well as campaigning respectfully. Hate commented, “they seem to be conflating our protest with the general hatred being thrown around in the fandom. We've made a point to emphasize polite but firm protest and advocate reaching out through official channels.” While there is a lot of anger and hate from fans towards the show and the producers, none of it has been from Team Purple Lion. Their protest has continuously avoided and often defended the producers and voice actors, who have been regularly attacked by other fans during the show’s airing and since due to the poor conclusion, all of whom TPL have made clear are under NDAs and cannot comment freely (although it’s worth noting, they stopped actively promoting the show on their social media after the season 8 release). Instead their questioning has focused on WEP, the company who own the Voltron trademark, after discovering through a meta analysis of a VLD episode signs that they were meddling with the creators’ vision of the show and ordered them to change it against the producers’ wishes. While it was only a speculative piece, WEP’s quick reaction to the release of said meta by claiming through their Voltron Store twitter that they “do not have any influence over the creative direction of the show” despite ignoring fans for months after the season release suggests some truth to it. Twitter user Eros compiled all evidence of their involvement since then in a Twitter thread and the majority of it is damning, their denial directly contradicting statements from the voice actors and producers prior to and after s8 that confirmed they were the controlling party and had creative input, as well as the creators’ desire to tell a progressive and empowering story however not being able to because of “other controlling parties” outside of DreamWorks. WEP have also made contradictory statements to fans about the season, saying that “nothing was edited” yet agreeing with a fan that a lot was left out and a director’s cut would sell well, as well as mocking another who left a Facebook review (March 16th 2019) complaining of being hung up on, replying to them that an “imposter” answered their phones:

[Image description: A facebook review of The Voltron Store. Text from the top reads as:

Reviewer (name coloured out) doesn’t recommend The Voltron Store.

Review reads: Terrible customer service. They literally hung up on me mid sentence and it was clearly not a case of a call accidentally being dropped. Extremely disappointed by the lack of professionalism!

The Voltron Store’s reply to the reviewer: if you actually talked to us you would find we are very nice people! And we never hang up on anybody EVER - unless they make outrageous claims like Power Rangers is better than Voltron!

The reviewer’s reply: The Voltron Store I did speak to a woman who identified herself Stephanie briefly, but I will never speak to your company again. Thank you for the response but I don't appreciate being called a liar. Please see the attached screenshot for proof of my abruptly ended call back in January. I desire to have no further communication with your company now, I simply decided finally other people deserved to know my personal experience.

Below is a screenshot showing the reviewer called The Voltron Store’s number.

The Voltron Store replied: We do not have a Stephanie here. That must be the issue: you dealt with an imposter! We would review the security cam footage but it does not go back 2 months. End ID.]

In stark contrast to WEP, Team Purple Lion has responded to criticism and addressed it, as well as reaching out to media outlets to clarify and correct poorly sourced claims, however have been faced with no response. Their questioning of WEP and their requests for the original season 8 on social media have been civil; their replies to the Voltron Store posts on Twitter containing no insults or cruel remarks, the harshest only critiques on the company’s lack of tact promoting a show and its merchandise that many considered offensive and toxic due to the last season. “At no point did we set out as some kind of campaign to “attack WEP” or “demand a new season”,” Crystal Rebellion said. “We were a handful of people looking at what amounted to, to use a metaphor, a puzzle that had technically been assembled but most of the pieces didn’t match up properly. We eventually decided to take the pieces that didn’t line up and look at what the picture was supposed to be. There was no ulterior motive - we just wanted the truth. When we realised the truth and it became obvious early on that Mir had seen the original season, we became convinced there was an unedited s8, perhaps in Mir’s backup drives. People saw it, which means it was a completed product, so it became a campaign to ask for it, it’s what the fandom wants, it’s what is profitable.”

In the face of all the negative response and disbelief, Team Purple Lion have gathered an overwhelming amount of evidence to support their case, not only from the show itself but also corroborating statements from the production team and cast as well as WEP’s conduct in response to the campaign. As a result TPL have gained a great amount of support and followers from the Voltron fandom, and are still gaining more a year and a half later. “I gotta give a shout out to Cosmic Royalty,” Leaking Hate said, “a group of Russian fans who reached out to us asking if they could do translations of our work. We host their translations on our website now and there’s apparently a group 500 strong on the Russian social media site VK that supports the work we do together!” Violet Howler on Tumblr has also been a big supporter as well as new fans, recently revealing themselves in the wake of good news, the fight to get the original season seemingly won as Leaking Hate displayed in her most recent meta. In it Hate outlines evidence for the franchise’s ownership changing hands from WEP to DreamWorks and therefore the release of the original season, based on the recent repromotion of the show through articles, new merchandise from the store and the new store designs that all suggest the release, since there would be no other reason to promote a show that was a PR disaster, so universally hated. Regardless of all the opposition and discredit they have faced, confirmation of the truth of Voltron’s original season 8’s fate is expected this summer before the official art book is made available, in the form of the season’s release itself. Whether the fans will be happy with it is another story, however Leaking Hate emphasised firmly that fan satisfaction was not the point, or at least not entirely. “Nothing is perfect, and nothing will please everyone. Especially a show like VLD, with almost 35 years of legacy and fans behind it. There are people who will not like the original season, there are even some who will prefer the edited one - I’m sure the WEP executives are some of them. But it will be the season it was supposed to be, the one that was a labour of love. There is so much love and care poured into every frame of VLD, this was a story that the people working on it wanted to tell; it was more than just a job to them. It was created with love, and it was with love that we fought for it, and when it comes down to it that’s what VLD’s meta narrative was about: love.”

#articles #fandom #fandom culture #team purple lion #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld fandom #freevlds8 #dreamworks

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neon-junkie · 3 years

Note

HIIIIII UR NEW WILLSCUELLA FIC WAS SO CUTE I WISH THERE WAS MORE WILLSCUELLA CONTENT *CRIES* THANK U THOSE BOYS ARE ALL THATS KEEPING ME GOING. ID LOVE IT IF U WROTE ABOUT THEM MORE!!

THANK YOU <3 when I managed to glitch into the rdr2 Mexico map the other week, I went up onto that big cliff north of Diez Corona and just gormed at my TV cause the view up there is so pretty ;-; so here’s a lil RDR1 Willscuella fic based off that sight I saw the other week

"Nue.. new... neuo..." Bill continues to grumble, attempting to pronounce a non-English word. Javier knows by now that Bill's never going to get it, even if he broke the word down and took his time with it, but Bill continues to 'attempt' his pronunciation. "Bill... come on," Javier sighs, slowing his mount down slightly so Bill can catch up to him. They'd been riding inline whilst passing north of Diez Corona, traveling down the somewhat busy roads as they headed further south, trying to get as far from New Austin (and John) as they can. Javier had paddled across the river, sneaking into the state to pick Bill up and save his ass, and the two had only just returned. Bill was adamant about paddling the canoe on the way back, saying it's the least he could do since Javier had agreed to bail him out, so Javier relaxed and enjoyed the sight of Bill struggling to paddle them to the other side. Bill's still got his eyes forward, his brain ticking away as he continues trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of the state they're in. Javier had told him off for just calling it Mexico, and said that if he was going to stay here a while, then the least he could do was learn a little bit of the language. "Let's try it again, huh? Say it with me, Bill. Nue-vo Par-ai-so," Javier says slowly. "New... Neuo... Shit!" Bill grumbles again, exhaling heavily. Javier sighs, rolling his eyes dramatically as he steers off the road, finding his own trail amongst the dirt. "Aye, I give up with you, Bill," Javier tuts, peering over at Bill. He knows that Bill's probably never going to get it; he's known Bill for well over a decade, a very long decade, and even after things had gone south and they'd split off, Javier still ended up helping the larger man out when he needed it. "I don't blame you. I would, if I were you," Bill agrees, staring at the dirt rather than where they were heading, letting his mount lead the way.

"We'll hitch the horses here. I want some lunch," Javier says as he comes to a halt, hitching his horse on what's left of a tree and taking some food from his saddlebags. Bill does the same, almost standing on another cactus in the process. That's not the first time he's gotten close to hurting himself, though he's managed a few times since they'd arrived. Bill pulls some food from his own saddlebags then peers his head around, realizing that Javier has wandered from his sight. He notices Javiers pointy sombrero and follows it, realizing that Javier had continued forward a few paces, heading down onto a small ledge. Bill takes a seat next to Javier, using the small ledge as shade as they lean back against it. He finally lifts his head up to notice where they were and the sight below them. They'd been traveling along a cliff, overlooking the vast Mexican landscape. There's an array of buttes below, surrounded by the dry desert and an odd sprinkle of plants. The heat can be seen radiating from the earth, small waves rising from the sand, making Bill rub his eyes just to ensure he's seeing things correctly. Javier notices the way Bill's looking at the landscape. He thought Bill had seen it all before with the dryness of New Austin, but Bill had never seen a butte before, nor how the earth was a vibrant gold shade rather than the dirty sand shade of New Austin. "You like what you see?" Javier asks, his mouth half-full with his food. His manners had gone out the window a long time ago, though Bill never bothered much with his. "Yeah, s'pretty," Bill tells him, finally dipping his head down to open the packaging to his food. "It's different to what I'm used to, I ain't seen stuff like that before," Bill comments as he points to the buttes, the large rock formations dotted about the landscape. "Yeah, Mexico's a beautiful country. I've told you that many times before, but now you get to see it for yourself," Javier says with a soft laugh, his mind flashing back to all those years ago where Javier would tell stories about his homeland around the campfire, enjoying the way his former gang members faces lit up as he described the landscape. "Finally," Bill nods, his gaze fixated on his food, but Javier snaps his head across to give Bill a confused look. "Finally?" Javier repeats. "Well, yeah. You has always said how pretty it is, 'n' now I get to see it for myself," Bill says with a shrug. "I never thought you cared for those stories? You never really said anything when I told them." "I didn't really know what to say, plus the others would always jump in with their questions 'n' stuff," Bill shrugs again. Javier pauses for a moment, going over all those events in his head. Bill seems unphased, focused on eating, whilst Javiers mouth remains empty as he thinks about his flashback. Javier eventually decides to remain silent, unsure of what to say, unsure if he should ask the many things that have been on his mind since they went their separate ways. Javier finally picks up once he's finished his meal, leaning back against the rock, his eyes gazing out at his mother country. "Bill?" he asks. "Mhm?" Bill replies, finishing off his food. "Did you ever think you'd end up here? As in, did you ever think you'd visit Mexico?" Javier questions. "Not really..." Bill answers. He opens his mouth again but quickly shuts it, his facial expression becoming focused as he runs through a few other answers in his head. "I thought... well, maybe..." Bill trails off, unsure of the right words. "You mean, you thought you would, but not like this?" Javier asks. "Yeah, not on these terms. Not on Marstons terms," Bill agrees, his brows furrowing slightly at the thought of John. "Yeah, I understand..." Javier sighs. He pauses for a moment, coming to terms with what he knows is going to happen. "You know, John isn't going to stop until he's got us." "Not unless we get him first," Bill says with a confident laugh. "You might be able to do that, but I can't..." Bill looks over at Javier, questioning why he won't stand up for himself. "Why?" he asks. "He's family, you know," Javier shrugs. "He ain't much family if he's tryna kill you." "I guess you're right." Javier and Bill remain in silence, enjoying the shade whilst it lasts, gazing out at the landscape and watching the clouds pass by. They both want to talk about the elephant in the room, about the way they split up all those years ago. Bill's eager to question why Javier even decided to help him in the first place, and Javier wants to ask why Bill contacted him, though he already knows it's because Bill has nobody left. Though Javier doesn't know that Bill's attempted to contact him before, he's written letter after letter but ended up scrunching up the paper and tossing it into the fire, never able to find the right things to say. "You wanna get going?" Javier finally speaks up, breaking the silence. "Sure," Bill nods in agreement. Javier's about to get up but Bill speaks again. "Can we... like... we know we is gonna die here. So, could we just.. you know..." Bill asks with a shrug. He keeps his gaze away from Javiers, not wanting Javier to see his flustered and unconfident face, nor wanting to see how Javier will react. Maybe Javier will push him off this cliff for asking such a thing, but Javier surprises him instead. "I know what you're asking," Javier tells him, his eyes wide. He doesn't bother hiding the smile on his face, nor the soft laugh he lets out. "Yeah, we can, Bill," Javier agrees. They both know their ends are near, but if they can enjoy their final moments together, then at least they'll die happy. They look at each other, a pair of old, tired men, gazing into each other's eyes like a bunch of lovestruck children. Javier removes him sombrero, setting it on his lap as he shuffles a little closer to Bill. He knows by now that Bill never removes his hat, he's always been so self-conscious of his balding. A pair of slightly chapped lips meet Javiers, and the two almost freeze up in the moment. It's been so many years since they'd last seen each other, even more since they'd kissed. Though they fall into sync, remembering just how they both like it; the right angles, the specific tilt so their noses don't bump, the soft biting to Bill's bottom lip that always drives him crazy. Bill reaches up to run his fingers into Javier's hair, short jagged locks that he's definitely cut himself. He remembers the way Javier would swat his hand away whenever he used to try that, not wanting to mess up his ponytail. The two stay connected for some time, attempting to catch up on some of the years they've missed, though they've got a long way to go to make up for it. Javier eventually breaks the kiss, knowing Bill could sit here for hours with his lips locked with the younger man. "Come on, old man," Javier says with a laugh. "Old man? You can't talk," Bill replies, his voice grumbly as always. "I haven't got any grey hairs yet, unlike you," Javier teases, stroking his thumb over the grey patch to Bill's moustache. Bill lets out a frustrated whimper but lets Javier have the last laugh, knowing he's in the right. Javier puts his sombrero back on and stands up, leading the way as they head back to the horses. The pair mount up, Javier leading the way as they continue on their travels. Their eyes catch each others every so often; Javier always smirks, making Bill's cheeks flush red, just like how they used to flirt across camp all those years ago. Javier can't help but smile every time he overhears Bill still trying to pronounce Nuevo Paraiso under his breath. He'll get it eventually.

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daredevilexchange · 3 years

Photo

Want to be featured here? Head to this page and fill in the form!

See what this is about here, or if you’re using the app here.

What’s your fannish ID? My ao3 is AsperJasper which is just my name lmao but my tumblr is @matt-murdok (because I'm In Love with Matt Murdock)!

What types of fanworks do you create? I'm a writer! I love getting to explore pieces and sides of characters and stories that didn't get the spotlight as much as I would have liked in canon, and with Daredevil especially (and how the ending of the show stands at the moment) there's so much room to build on what we have. I love love love a good character study, especially one with repetitive themes that show development over a period of time, and I love that writing gives me a chance to not only figure out my understanding of a character but to share that with other people! And make friends!

What are your favourite types of fanworks, when you're not creating? I love reading and some of the fanart I've seen especially in the DD fandom is just like. Phenomenal. I love seeing other people's interpretations of characters I love, so for me writing and fanart are probably my two favorites. And if you look at my blog you'll see how much I appreciate a gifset, people who draw and edit are just phenomenally talented how do you do it? It's amazing. I love you.

What do you like in particular about this fandom? I love that at least the side of the DD fandom I'm involved in (and I don't know the whole wide fandom so that may just be a few people I guess but I don't think so) is really all for discussion. Like when somebody makes a point if somebody disagrees they don't start an argument, they talk about it, and that's super fun for me. Also my friends and I can say the stupidest idea for an au ever and two hours later I'm like "oh okay I Have to write that now" and I think it's pretty great to be in a fandom where silly creativity is just as valued as more projects with a more serious tone. I also am just plain old ho for best friends to lovers so can you guess what my favorite ship is for DD ajhgsjhgfs I love Mattfoggy. I love all the different fics exploring their relationship and how it changes after the events of the show or how things would have been different if Matt told Foggy everything earlier, and I love imagining all the different possibilities for myself! Also Murderdock. I have been in a Muderdock mood for like a month now I love that evil bastard he's perfect.

Do you like participating in fan events? The DDNYE (DDE: tag here!) was actually the first exchange or anything like that I've done for like, five years, because my last experience was, uh, a Wild Ride from start to finish lmao. I had so much fun though! I don't always do well with deadlines (and I did end up posting a day late oops) but it was really fun getting prompts and finding a way to think through them to create something I was proud of! I really like collaborating with other people and I think the exchange format was super fun!

What about your creating process? Oh man okay first of all I never close my document tabs ever. Like ever ever ever. They're always open so when something hits I can get it down right away. I definitely can't write to silence, so depending on if I'm writing casually or trying to hit a deadline I either listen to music or (most of the time when I'm just going at my own pace) have YouTube playing in the background. Usually video essays or drama channels, I'm not pretending to have taste. I also have a ton of WIPs going at once so that I usually have ideas for at least one flowing. Unfortunately for me I seem to be most productive between midnight and 5am which is problematic for somebody still in school lmao. Idk if I could name any specific influences, but I'd say I usually stylistically end up emulating whatever book I most recently read and loved.

Do you interact a lot with other fans? I have my little group for sure! I'm in a tiny little Discord with only eight other people, and it's so much fun! I tend to get overwhelmed in bigger spaces especially big discord servers so I'm pretty happy with my tiny one. On Tumblr I also have a couple friends, and I talk in the tags a a lot and I read my tags, so if that counts!

Is there any particular piece you'd like to showcase for this post? Ooh, probably What Love Is (According to Foggy Nelson)! I think that's the fic that I'm proudest of for Daredevil. I really like the voices of Matt and Foggy, and I got to use a lot of my favorite headcanons as plot points which is always fun! Also can I cheat and say my social media series as a second because that is just. So fun to write.

Do you have other fandoms you'd like to talk about? I've been involved in a couple of other fandoms, but the one I was most into is Newsies! Which is a 90s Disney movie musical and Broadway show that really is fantastic, and if we want to Bacon number it, Christian Bale played Jack Kelly and Christian Bale also played Batman and Ben Affleck played Batman and also Matt Murdock so there's a connection! Also one of the actors from 92sies was in Mighty Ducks with Elden I think! But neither of those things are what got me to where I am today (hopelessly in love with Matt Murdock). I do love a good story of somebody rising from the circumstances to become part of something bigger than themselves, which is a theme in both Newsies and DD, but honestly. I do not control the hyperfixation so I could not tell you exactly why DD sucked me in so hard, but here we are!

Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself? I'm always up for making new friends!! I love talking to people about the things I love and oh Boy do I love Daredevil!

Where can your fanworks be found? My ao3 is AsperJasper (https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsperJasper/works) and my Tumblr is @matt-murdok! My writing tag on tumblr is (#i wrote this) and anything I've posted that I've written will be there!

Thank you, @matt-murdok !

banner by @context-is-for-kingpins !

[ID on a white background, four black triangles that look like spotlights from above. Each illuminates one of the Defenders silhouetted in white: Jessica, Luke, Danny, Matt. A hand on the left is holding a pen writing the words Content Creator Spotlight. There is a little Punisher skull on the pen. End ID]

#daredevil #marvel #daredevil fic #foggy nelson #mattfoggy #content creator spotlight

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rpf-bat · 4 years

Text

When You Wanna Be A Movie Star

Pairing: Ray Toro x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Written for Gothtober 2020, Day 13. Prompt: “Stigmata.”

You’re a struggling actress, living in Los Angeles. When an audition doesn’t go the way you hoped, your friend Ray, tries to cheer you up, with a movie night. You tell him he can pick the film - and he immediately chooses Stigmata (1999).

You jumped up when the phone rang. The caller ID, told you it was the producer of the television series that you’d auditioned for last week.

“H-Hello?” you said hopefully, trying not to sound like you were out of breath, from running across the room.

“Hi, Y/N,” the Hollywood producer said jovially. “I just wanted to give you a courtesy call today, to let you know that we’ve selected another actress for the part.”

“.....Oh.” Your face fell.

“Thanks so much for answering our casting call, though,” the man said politely. “We’ll be sure to give you a call, next time we’re seeking new talent.”

“....Thanks,” you replied, tears welling up in your eyes, as you disconnected the call. You resisted the urge, to throw the phone across the room.

I didn’t get the part, you thought miserably. I worked so hard to get my audition monologue just right, and it still wasn’t enough.

You knew that if you stayed home tonight, you’d do nothing but cry about it. It was better to go out, and try and take your mind off it. Feeling in need of emotional support, you called your best friend, Ray.

You two had known each other, since your second year of film school. But, rather than graduate alongside you, Ray had dropped out, in order to go on the road with his band. His gamble had more than paid off - The Black Parade had recently been certified platinum.

Despite his newfound fame, Ray still always managed to make time for those that knew him before he got ‘big’. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said warmly. “How are you doing today?”

“Not so good, Toro,” you confessed. “Would it be alright with you, if I came over, and hung out tonight?”

“Sure, I didn’t have any plans,” Ray replied. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s almost Halloween,” you pointed out. “How about a horror movie night? You can pick whichever movie you want, I don’t care.”

“In that case,” Ray suggested, “how about Stigmata?”

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You showed up on his doorstep, later that night, a few bags of microwave popcorn in hand.

“Hi, Y/N,” Ray smiled, opening his door for you. “Thanks for bringing the snacks! Come on in.”

You walked into his spacious living room. His television was twice the size of yours. You couldn’t wait to see Patricia Arquette’s hands bleed in super-high-definition.

“Out of all the horror films you have on tape,” you asked, raising an eyebrow, “you really want to watch Stigmata?”

Compared to other titles in Ray’s vast collection, like Friday The 13th or Dawn Of The Dead, you thought that Stigmata was kind of obscure. It had done decently well at the box office, when it first came out, but critics had panned it.

“Well, I’ll always have a soft spot for Stigmata,” Ray confessed, “because you were in it.”

“I was barely in it,” you recalled. “I was just an extra, in the background. I didn’t even have any dialogue.”

“Still, it was your first role ever,” Ray remembered fondly. “You were so proud of yourself, when it first came out, you made everybody from school, go to the theater, and see it.”

“Yeah,” you laughed. You’d thought, at the time, that it would be the beginning of your success story. Instead, over half a decade later, you were still struggling to get gigs. You’d had no choice, but to supplement your income, with a stereotypical barista job.

It was Ray, who had actually become someone important.

He sat down on the couch, patting the seat beside him.

“Are you ready to get spooked?” he grinned. “I’ll go pop the popcorn, if you get the VCR started.”

“Sure,” you nodded, taking the VHS tape, from his outstretched hand. You were surprised that he still had a VCR. Over the last few years, DVD had quickly become the primary format for new film releases. Then again, Ray was an old-fashioned guy - most of the films he liked were classics.

You popped the tape into the VCR slot, and sat back down on the couch. He sat down beside you, a bowl of freshly popped corn in his hand. You dug your hand into the bowl, and dumped a handful of salty, buttery comfort food in your mouth, as Ray pressed play.

The film opened with Gabriel Bryne’s character, watching a statue of the Virgin Mary, cry tears of blood.

“Did you know he won a Razzie Award, for Worst Supporting Actor, for this film?” you scoffed.

“Aw, did he really?” Ray laughed. “Poor dude. He tried.”

“He was actually a decent guy,” you recalled. “He wasn’t too snooty, to talk to all the extras, who were filming this scene with him.”

“Oh, look, there you are!” Ray said excitedly. He hit the pause button, freezing the frame. Bryne’s character, Father Andrew, was walking through a bustling Brazilian marketplace. The you of six years ago, stood behind him, playing the role of a nameless shopper. You were looking down, scrutinizing a piece of fruit that was for sale.

“Yeah, blink, and you’ll miss me,” you said, rolling your eyes. “I was in this movie, for a whole thirty seconds.”

“Every time I watch this movie with the guys,” Ray confessed, “I point those thirty seconds out.”

“Do you really?” you blinked.

“Yeah,” Ray chuckled. “I’m like, look, there’s my friend! Isn’t she cool?”

“I’m not cool,” you frowned. “Ray, I’m not even cool enough, to get a part, on some stupid daytime soap opera.”

“Is that what you were upset about, when you called me earlier?” Ray realized, frowning.

“Yeah,” you sighed. “I thought I did really good, at my audition. But, I guess I blew it.”

“It’s okay,” Ray assured you, giving you a supportive pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll knock your next audition, out of the park.”

“No, I won’t!” you said glumly. “Ray, I’ve been trying to get famous for years now, and I’m no closer to my goal, than I was the day I started.”

“Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, okay?” Ray grumbled. “Last week, I was super sick. Like, coughing up a lung….”

“Oh, no,” you interrupted, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” Ray assured you. “My point was - I was feeling like absolute crap, and I just wanted to get some NyQuil, take it, and go to sleep. So, I’m standing in the cold and flu aisle, at the drugstore, and of course, this girl in a My Chemical Romance shirt comes up to me.”

“Yikes,” you groaned. “She wanted an autograph?”

“Yeah!” Ray nodded. “I was like - really? Right now?!”

“Did you tell her no?” you wondered.

“Nah, I signed her thing,” Ray confessed. “But, honestly, I hate getting recognized in public like that, when I’m just trying to go about my business.”

“You could have paid somebody to go to the store, and get the NyQuil for you,” you pointed out.

“I mean, I could afford to,” Ray admitted. “But, I really don’t want to do that. I just want to be….a normal guy. Like I used to be, when we lived in New Jersey together.”

“You’re not that guy anymore,” you frowned. “You’re the guitarist of one of the most popular bands on the planet.”

“I don’t care about popularity,” Ray shrugged. “I just like making music.”

“It’s not fair!” you snapped. “You have all this notoriety, and you don’t even want it! Meanwhile, I’ve always dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star - a household name. But, my biggest claim to fame, so far, is some shitty Pizza Hut commercial!”

“I...I actually really liked that commercial,” Ray said softly. “Every time I saw it on TV, it put a smile on my face.”

“Really?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. “My line in it, wasn’t even that funny.”

“I didn’t like it because of the script,” Ray confessed. “I liked it, because seeing your face, made me happy.”

“What’s so special about my face?” you asked.

“Well…..it’s a very pretty face,” Ray mumbled, blushing.

“Wh-What?” you stammered, your ears turning red. “You think that I’m pretty?”

“I’ve always thought that, Y/N,” Ray whispered, his brown eyes, staring softly into yours. “I don’t love Stigmata, because of the script, or the cinematography, either. I don’t even care, that Billy Corgan did the soundtrack for it. I loved it, just because….I love you.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Could Ray actually return, the feelings you’d been keeping secret?

“You mean, you love me….like you love all your friends?” you guessed, trying not to get your hopes up.

“No,” Ray shook his head, looking away from you, shyly. “Y/N… I mean, I love you, like a man loves a woman. I want you. Like...how Frankie wanted Father Andrew, in the second act of the movie.”

“Doesn’t he reject her advances, because he’s a priest?” you asked, recalling the film’s plot.

“.....Are you gonna reject mine, too?” Ray breathed, eyes downcast.

“No,” you shook your head. “I sure as hell didn’t take any vow of celibacy, Toro. I want you right back.”

You leaned over on the couch, and kissed him. He tasted salty, like popcorn. But, his touch, as he gently pulled you closer, was oh so sweet.

“....I’ve wanted you all along,” Ray confessed, gently kissing you a second time. “I just didn’t know how to ask you, to be mine.”

“Well, if you’re asking me now,” you smiled, pushing him backwards, into the couch cushions, “then I’m yours.”

#ray toro x reader #ray toro imagine #gothtober #eh this was short and sweet #but if I'd taken this prompt and written another Priest!Gerard horror fic I would have goten compared to Unholyverse instantly

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fleckcmscott · 4 years

Text

Another Decade

Summary: Arthur discovers Y/N's fortieth is just around the corner. He hopes to get the occasion right.

Warnings: Swearing

Words: 5,044

A/N: This request comes from @hhandley80, who is an absolute sweetheart! Funnily enough, I got the request for this story and Another Year within a couple days of each other. Thank you so much for it! It was great to write.

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

This morning's therapy appointment had boosted Arthur's spirit. Left him refreshed instead of worn. Dr. Ludlow had given him a break from discussing his negative thoughts and various neuroses. Rather, she'd asked him what he wanted to talk about. What was foremost on his mind. And he'd spent close to the entire hour diving into what it was like to live with Y/N.

Having a person who cared about him was fulfilling. Beautiful. Challenging. Struggles inevitably happened but she attempted to help him through them. (A stark difference from when he’d been on his own.) The faith she'd placed in him by inviting him into her home was exciting.

Fears he'd never be worthy of that trust or such a good, intelligent woman did tend to eat at him. Especially when he couldn’t sleep or suspected he was slipping. But he was trying. Doing his best to learn every day, every hour, every minute. To alter his view of himself to include intimate partner alongside mentally ill loner. “I- I thought it would fix me,” he’d said. “It’s hard. But I don’t feel so bad all the time anymore.”

The doctor had complimented his resolve. Said he was dealing with all the changes as well as could be expected. If he followed his treatment plan, she anticipated he'd continue to do so. Appreciating the recognition, Arthur had wondered how to keep her praises close.

And now here he was. Experiencing the ordinariness of sitting in a diner with his girlfriend. Talking about their respective mornings. Sharing a meal. The crinkle fry he grabbed from the blue-plate special in the center of the table was soggy. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he dunked it in ketchup, a possible punchline coming to mind. If he could just figure out the right-

An inviting caress to the back of his hand brought him back to the present. He hadn't meant to tune out Y/N. With an apologetic grin, he pressed back into the booth's plastic cushions and took another drag off his cigarette.

“I was saying I need to head back to work,” she told him. A smile slowly spread across her face, until it nearly blinded him. “And that I can’t believe we’ve been shacked up for almost two months. I know it’s been an adjustment-“

“A good one,” he interrupted gently, interlocking their fingers.

"I’m proud of you.” The pink on her cheeks was faint. “I wouldn’t have taken the leap with anyone else. I can’t seem to get enough of your company, Mr. Fleck.” With that, she signaled for the waitress, retrieved her wallet from her purse, and got out some cash. Rising, she turned to Arthur. “Get the change for me,” she said, heading towards the back.

Her suede billfold was open on the table, her Gotham City ID card in view. He tentatively picked it up to examine the photo. Her hair was uncharacteristically flat, shorter than it was now. The flash had turned her lovely eyes red, and her lips were agape, as though she was in the middle of a sentence. A giggle escaped him. Frumpy. She was frumpy.

Reading her details, his brow quirked at her full name: “Y/N M/N L/N.” There was a nice rhythm to it, one that would also work with “Fleck,” if they got as far as he daydreamed. Then he saw her date of birth and stilled.

Her fortieth was in less than two weeks: 4/6/1942. April sixth. Shit.

He’d learned so many facts about her: the names of her nephews and niece; which college she’d attended; her favorite bands. She’d told him her birthday was in the spring. How the hell had he neglected to ask her the specific date? Awash with embarrassment, a hiccup left him and he covered his mouth.

The waitress returned with a dubious look, a receipt, and coins. As he counted out the tip, he calculated what he had in his own wallet and checking account. He’d scrimped and saved to cover the electric and water bills (though he knew he’d have to pay them in secret to avoid Y/N’s finding a way to repay him). Could he afford a decent gift, too?

Arm in arm, they walked back to Y/N’s workplace. She chatted about that afternoon’s court process, and he puffed away as if he was going to Hoyt’s office for an impromptu scolding. When they reached the steps in front of her building, she tugged at him until he stepped closer. “You’re so stiff.”

Putting on a half-grin, he leaned into her. “Don’t worry about me.” He stole a chaste kiss, one she tried to turn into more before he backed off. “I’ll see you later.”

When he got home, he didn’t bother to change into his thermal shirt and pajama bottoms. Relaxing wasn’t an option. Stretching and pacing the kitchen, he breathed in and out, in and out. He needed to focus instead of letting himself be thrown off. Like a good partner would.

Plans. He had to make plans. And not the vagaries floating around in his head of what boyfriends were supposed to do. Special ones. Personal ones. Ones that demonstrated the depths of his love for her. This was important. The start of a new decade. And her first birthday with him.

Unable to conjure other options, he grabbed the phone from the wall and dialed Y/N’s office. His leg bounced harder with every ring. He hadn’t yet spoken with Patricia, Y/N’s friend and co-worker. But he’d heard she was nice. Any suggestions she could offer were welcome.

Thank goodness she answered before he lost his nerve. “Shaw and Associates. Patricia speaking.”

“Hi,” he pushed out, fiddling with the phone cord. “Um, this is Arthur. Arthur Fleck. Y/N’s boyfriend?”

A smile lingered in her professional lilt. “It’s nice to talk to you, finally. But she isn’t here. I can take a message.”

“No, I know.” If he hesitated too long, he'd reveal his awkwardness. So he went for it. “Do you know what Y/N’s favorite cake is?” That question commenced a conversation that gradually became easier. Each sentence soothed. Consoled the irritation he’d aimed at himself.

Y/N liked hummingbird cake, a mix of pineapple, banana, and cinnamon. It sounded intricate and expensive. There was a bakery that sold it by the slice, according to Patricia. Y/N hadn’t disclosed what gifts she would fancy, but had said she didn’t need any knick-knacks, mugs, or other such trifles. As for activities, she was uncomplicated. She liked going to the movies and restaurants. Conversations and walks. The mundanity of domestic life, especially since becoming involved with him.

That lovely sentiment caused his eyelids to shut, an ember to glow in his heart. But it only confirmed what he already knew. “I want to make her happy,” he breathed. “I’m new at this.”

“We all were once,” she said, brushing his concerns off. “Arthur, she’ll love anything you do. Because you’re the one doing it.”

The kindness she was extending to him felt surreal. Not yet used to it, he tried to believe it wasn't a trick. He thanked her quietly, for her ideas and for listening to him. But as he was about to hang up, she gave him one last piece of advice. “Wear your button-up with the blue flowers. And your yellow vest.”

Blinking, he frowned. “But those are for work.”

Patricia laughed softly. “Yeah, well. She likes them. What was it she said? ‘They accentuate his sexy waist?’”

A burn rushed across his face and he rubbed his forehead. “...Oh.”

Well, that was a request he could handle.

~~~~~

It seemed as though newspaper adverts, television commercials, and even the damned billboards plastered around Gotham had an ax to grind. They all declared the same thing. Women needed to “mold their faces back to youth!” “Guard against aging skin!” Learn they could “look young again!” To be someone other than themselves.

Rolling her eyes, Y/N dropped the magazine she’d been reading in the trash can next to her desk. She’d be crossing into the “Fatal Forties” in a week. While she did use lotion before bed to prevent the formation of wrinkles, and the prospect of gray hair wasn’t one she relished, turning the big 4-0 bothered her less than she’d anticipated. Her looks were minor concerns compared to what she’d gained over the years.

The hardships she’d endured had mostly strengthened her. Allowed her, mercifully, to grow into a person who was comfortable with herself. It was said women were supposed to be set in their ways by now. And in many respects, that was true. She enjoyed her routines. She liked her career. She loved participating in life amidst millions of other people.

But meeting Arthur had changed her path. Started her on an adventure she treasured. A journey into actual partnership, rather than her earlier attempts to please and meet other’s expectations. Attempts she had failed at. Miserably.

He hadn’t cared she was five years his senior. Hadn’t hinted that he’d considered her a “spinster.” Never joked that she was an “old maid.” If she stood in front of the cosmetic counter at the pharmacy while he got his prescriptions, he’d slink up behind her and say, “You’re already pretty.” She’d never expected him to make her feel more desirable now than she’d ever felt in her twenties, stretch marks, moderately saggy breasts, and all.

During the past few days, she’d tried to piece together what he could have planned for her birthday. He hadn’t left any clues, though one night he had hurriedly tucked something under a couch cushion. He’d been a bit out of sorts, though. Biting his nails more than usual. Seeking greater reassurance.

She’d had plenty of good birthdays. There’d been parties and games. Presents. Hugs and well wishes. When she’d taken care of her father it had mostly been forgotten, apart from the cards she’d received from her ex-husband and sister. The passage of time had been marked by worsening dementia. And she had been fine with not caring.

In contrast, Arthur had stated he’d never known what it was like to matter to someone. Not until her. He’d told her he’d given Penny a blouse for her birthday once or twice. That had been years ago, however, before his mother’s reactions to him had gradually reduced to requests to send letters. Before her health had declined when he was a child and he’d had to take over every basic task. Before he’d become too exhausted to try.

Would it be fair to expect him to take much notice?

At the end of a long workday, she’d be satisfied with a quiet evening at home. Cooking dinner together. Drinking wine until she felt warm and fuzzy. Kisses exchanged here and there. Maybe some fooling around before she nodded off on the sofa with her feet in his lap. Such basic joys would be plenty.

~~~~~

The page in Arthur’s journal taken up by Y/N’s special day wasn’t atypical. He’d been writing about her since the grocery store. (“I wonder what her name tastes like. Less bitter than mine, I bet.”) Since they’d shared donuts. (“I shud have given Sara my number.”) Since she’d stared at him, then smiled at him, and he’d felt the whole world change. (“I hope Y/N likes the joke I rote for her. I practised it 100 times! Maybe she’ll let me touch her again. Shit. I’m nervos.”)

With it a mere four days away, there wasn’t much time left for gift hunting. So he pulled on his trusty tan jacket and headed out. He was unsatisfied with what his search had turned up so far. Flowers. Candy. Nylons. It had all been mediocre when she was beyond compare.

On the verge of desperation and distress, he finally managed to stumble upon the right shop. The name above the entrance, Nice Twice, was catchy. And there was a sign: “Personalization available!” Following a quick glance through the streaked shop window, he flicked his cigarette to the ground and opened the wooden door.

As he stepped inside a shopkeeper bell rang. The stench of sandalwood incense and mothballs was thick, causing him to wince. The place was overstuffed, filled with circular clothing racks, shelves of home decor and appliances, and furniture from the sixties. He tread along the faded, orange parquet floor. Squeezed between displays of bell bottoms and coats to reach a large jewelry counter by the cash register.

A man Arthur assumed was the owner popped out from behind a nearby shoe rack. He appeared to be what Penny had disdainfully referred to as a “hippie,” with his beaded headband and light blue jeans. When asked if he’d found anything he liked, Arthur answered, “Not yet.”

His shoulders tilted, drew together as he scanned the contents of the glass cabinet. Being able to get Y/N diamond earrings or a bracelet would have been ideal. He’d heard they were supposed to be symbols of commitment. Show her how important she was to him. But they’d never be affordable, even in a thrift store. There were some lovely brooches but they weren’t her style. She didn’t wear pins, anyway.

About fifteen minutes had passed when, at last, he spotted a suitable piece. The owner gave it to him to inspect. The heart, hanging from a long, silver chain, was a tad smaller than the end of his thumb. Purple, blue, and gold flowers, faded with age, were pressed under the pendant’s rounded, glass front. It was lovely, like her. And picturing her wearing it made his chest tighten.

The necklace was twelve dollars. For two dollars more, the heart’s silver back could be engraved. Arthur could definitely swing that. It took only seconds for him to choose what should be etched into it, having had his imagination sparked by a recent fifties sit-com. It would be ready Monday, the day before her birthday.

While Arthur retrieved his wallet, the owner asked, ”Hey, what’s your sign?”

Forehead furrowed, he tried to decipher the man’s meaning. He was sure he’d heard the question on television and in films. “My sign?” The man clarified and Arthur provided both his and Y/N’s birthdays.

The owner laughed. “Woo wee! That’s a powerful match.” He indicated a collection of astrology scrolls next to the register. “Your lady friend might like one of these.”

Waving dismissively, Arthur shook his head. “I don’t believe in that.” Seemingly determined, the hippie held out a rolled-up scroll. It was about the length of a cigarette, its title printed in a faux-ancient font: “Aries & Scorpio: Love & Romance.” Curiosity piqued, he pressed his lips together. “What does it say?”

“Only good things, man.” This was obviously a well-practiced pitch. And it was working The man retrieved a keyring full of unrolled, laminated scrolls. After flipping through the collection, he handed one to Arthur. He wasn’t the fastest reader, having had difficulties with it since he was a kid. But he scanned the page.

According to “the stars,” palpable chemistry existed between Aries and Scorpio. They were fun, passionate, and explosive in the bedroom. Snorting, he brought the scroll closer. “Your attraction to each other defies logic. Aries has a tough demeanor, but Scorpio brings out the compassion and love hiding underneath. Scorpio has an inner strength Aries finds irresistible.” Hm. What it said about Y/N was true. And she’d told him he was strong (which he didn’t really believe). He smiled, pleased this silly tract paid him such compliments.

He kept going. “As a pair, you are inhalation and exhalation in one. Two sides of the same coin. Aries is the sun to Scorpio’s moon.” Y/N was all those things to him. Even on days he wasn’t sure he wanted to feel better. Even on days it was easier to sink into the familiarity of misery than to strive for the unfamiliarity of feeling good.

It was after reading the final line that he nodded and dug into his pocket for two quarters: “You will be together for decades, even into the next life.”

~~~~~

Though she was standing in an overcrowded subway, squished between a man holding a dog and a woman using her as a vertical bed, Y/N felt giddy. Albeit tired. The day had been brimming with paperwork, phone calls, and running around. But it had started off well, and she was certain its upward trajectory would continue the rest of the night.

When she’d awoken, she’d discovered a pink envelope in Arthur’s place, laying haphazardly on his pillow. She’d boosted herself up on her forearm, ran her fingertips over her handwritten name, and taken out the yellow card.

There was a drawing of a man holding a woman by the waist. Lifting her until her hair touched the cheery, red “Happy Birthday.” The couple appeared thrilled. Taken with each other. And straight out of the forties. It wasn’t quite them, but it did reflect Arthur’s old fashioned romanticism.

No preprinted poem was inside. No famous quotes. Arthur had written a message instead. One which made her ache. “What do you get when you cross chocolat with something that goes thump-thump? A sweetheart. (That’s you.) My life is nicer with you in it. Even Gotham. I’m happy you talked to me. I love you a lot. -Arthur.”

He’d returned to the bedroom. Caught her mid-giggle as she’d wiggled out of her nightgown, hidden between the sheets. He was holding a mug. The same one they’d shared after the first of many lovemaking sessions.

Greedily, she’d ogled his damp hair and slender musculature. Light green eyes soft and serene, he’d sat next to her and pecked her cheek. At the flick of his gaze to her mouth, she’d flung her arms around his shoulders. Stubble burned her skin, her kisses to his dimples urgent.

“Wait,” he’d chuckled, putting the drink on the nightstand. “I made pancakes.” Even as he’d protested, he’d splayed his hand on the small of her back.

“To hell with pancakes,” she’d purred, pulling him under the blankets.

Work had been sentimental, which she’d neither expected nor wanted. Her new job would be starting in a week and a half. The small celebration they’d squeezed in served as both a goodbye and “Over the Hill” party, black balloons and grey streamers included.

Matt had been downcast as he’d shoveled red velvet cake into his mouth. “I’m sorry it turned out this way.”

A lame attempt to lighten the atmosphere had been needed. No one was going to start blubbering on her account. “You could come with me. Follow the conscience I know you have hidden somewhere.” He’d looked askance, turned towards his office. Trying to soften her joke, she’d patted his arm. “Don’t feel too bad. You could still lose the case.”

Settled on the windowsill, she’d gazed out at the streets of the city she’d grown to love. The city she called home, despite having spent only five percent of her existence in it. It was fitting to start this phase of her life here. The only period in which she’d felt whole, both professionally and personally.

A sheen had been in Patricia’s eyes when she’d joined her in the tight space, nudging her with her hip. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you here, accelerating Matt’s hair loss.”

“You’ll have to add it to your list of duties.” Elbowing her gently, Y/N continued. “I’ll only be a couple blocks away. We’ll meet for lunch. And you have my phone number.” Before her own eyes could water, she’d gone to her desk to cut another slice.

Patricia raised her hand. “You’re going to ruin your appetite.”

“Oh? Should I be expecting something?”

Finishing her own piece, Patricia crossed her ankles. “Arthur called for tips while you were in court. He decided I was an expert on you.” Y/N’s brows shooting up prompted a chuckle. “I didn’t give away all your secrets. Just some of your favorite sweets.”

The clench of Y/N’s throat was instant. And shame washed over her for assuming he wouldn’t plan much, if anything at all. He’d been considerate, even during tough times. Like at Christmas, which had been hard for him but turned out well in the end. He’d made it clear that what he coveted most, besides love and validation, was to be treated normally. Normal expectations were a part of that. She’d sought to give him a break when the benefit of the doubt had been what he deserved.

Y/N thought a bit. Surveyed the ornate woodwork in the corners of the room. Then she'd met her friend’s gaze. “Patricia, I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“Because he’s getting you cake?”

“I’m not that easy.” Laughing, Y/N sat on the corner of her desk. “Do you remember when I said I was almost forty and was going to grab what I want? Well, I’m forty and he’s what I want.”

Caution and kindness had softened Patricia’s concerns. “I don’t mean to be indelicate. But you’re his first relationship. Is he ready for that?”

Y/N sucked the frosting off her fork. “Our sixth month is soon. I’ll drop a hint. When he’s ready - if he’s ready - he’ll know I am, too.”

She’d been floating since that realization. Since admitting her devotion to Arthur aloud and thereby making it concrete. Since getting a supportive hug from Patricia. And reassurance from Matt, of all people, that she hadn’t entered a mid-life crisis.

That headiness continued as she fumbled with her keys. Upon entering their apartment, music reached her ears. Music with a faster tempo than the classics Arthur usually played. Hanging up her coat and slipping off her shoes, she recognized it as one of her “Best of Soul and Disco” LPs. She braced herself on the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, her cheeks breaking wide open.

Arthur had moved the television and its stand to the side of the coffee table. A blanket, folded into a square, lay in front of the windows. Two plates and two wine glasses were on it. As she approached, she saw sandwiches on a platter. There was pasta salad and potato salad, both covered in plastic wrap, from the deli around the corner. In the center of it all sat an empty vase.

When he came out of the bedroom, magic wand in hand, he stilled. “Oh. Hi. You’re back already?”

A giggle. “I ran.” Biting her bottom lip, she admired his tousled brown curls, feathery, light, and attractive as hell. His face was unobscured by make-up, allowing her to revel in his handsomeness. The top button of his white shirt was undone. And his yellow vest outlined his lean frame in all the right ways. He wore his usual trousers. “Did you have a gig today?”

“No.” He smoothed a palm down his chest and stomach, and she noticed he’d rolled up his sleeves. “Um, I heard you like it.”

She felt herself blush and nodded eagerly. Thank you, Patricia.

With a flick of his wrist, flowers sprouted from the end of the wand. “I wanted to do this outside. On the fire escape. But it’s too cold.” He knelt on the blanket to put the flowers in the vase.

Y/N cocked her head. The juxtaposition of him wearing his “Carnival Casual” outfit, the cutesy charm of the picnic he’d arranged with the music that was playing was ridiculous. The song went on repeatedly about miracles, need, and “sexy things.” She snorted.

As Arthur removed the cellophane from the salads, his shoulders tensed. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like,” he breathed. “I got too much.”

“No,” she replied, sitting next to him, laying a hand on his thigh. “This is wonderful.” When their eyes met, she found his look at once bashful and flirtatious.

She served the sandwiches and salads while he poured the wine, following her request to fill the glasses to the top. Mostly potato salad ended up on her plate, the mix of mayonnaise, pepper, and egg just right. A majority of the pasta wound up on his - he liked the vinegary flavor. The red wine did not pair with the turkeys on rye he’d prepared, so she saved most of it for dessert.

When Arthur held out an orange roll of paper, she was dabbing her mouth with a cloth napkin. The title made her laugh. She never would have suspected he put stock in the zodiac; she certainly didn’t. Gingerly, she opened the scroll and squinted down at it.

It described her as determined, confident, and extroverted. And called Arthur a curious, emotional introvert. While mostly true, it wasn’t quite accurate. Arthur was only introverted in personal situations, while having the courage to perform as a clown and a stand-up. Those traits could belong to anyone, depending on the situation.

But the next paragraph clued her in as to why he’d bought the horoscope. And given it to her. “You were made for each other. There are times when it’s hard to know how you both managed to ever exist apart. The bond between you is unbreakable. You have much to learn from one another.” A lump formed in her throat when she read the last line, that they’d be together until the next life. She didn’t believe in that, yet longed for it all the same. “Thank you, Arthur.”

The scroll would have been enough. Dinner would have been enough. He would have been enough. But he placed a pink, velvet necklace box on her lap. She blinked at it, hoping he hadn’t spent too much on her. Then she forced that notion from her brain - he was a grown man who could buy what he chose - and cracked it open. Her breath caught.

The heart with pressed flowers was obviously vintage. The size was demure, like her other, few pieces of jewelry. And it was exactly her style: feminine and practical. She was grateful he hadn’t gotten her diamonds or other flashy gems. Her eyes darted to his as she took it out. “This is...” Gently, he turned it over in her palm, and she saw the engraving on the back: A+S.

A+S. Arthur and Y/N. It was a bold move from him. A welcome one.

“I think that’s usually done on trees,” he said. “But there aren’t that many in Gotham.”

Chuckling, she sniffed back her tears and shoved it at him. “Here.” She turned her back towards him. His fingertips dragged along her collarbone as she lifted her hair and he latched the chain. The kiss he placed above the clasp made her shiver. Wanting him to see how the pendant rested right above her cleavage, she unbuttoned the top of her blouse.

“It’s beautiful.” She pulled him in for a kiss. Traced his crow's feet. Let her thumbs wander to the slight puffiness underneath. The wine, along with her earlier confession to Patricia, was making it easier to open up. “You have my whole heart, Arthur,” she sighed into his mouth.

His palm went to her chest as he tilted his head, his other holding the nape of her neck. The tip of his tongue slipped between her lips and warmth enveloped her. She felt his fingers play with the necklace. Heard his ragged inhalation. Knew that pride and pleasure were emboldening him, because she was wearing what he’d gifted.

Eventually, he broke their connection, told her to close her eyes and pecked her nose. She concentrated on his steps to the kitchen. The clatter of him going through the silverware drawer. And then the chill breeze of the glass door being opened.

When she was allowed to peek, she stood and followed him onto the fire escape. A lit cigarette was already between his lips, and he was lighting a candle on a gigantic slice of cake. “You’re supposed to make a wish,” he said, smoke escaping his nostrils.

She snuggled his side, snaked an arm around him as he slung his across her shoulders. After eyeing the flame a moment, she sucked in a deep breath, pursed her lips, and bent closer...

Just in time for a split-second gust of wind to blow out the candle.

Arthur groaned and started to let go of her but she stopped him. “It counts.” She lifted the fork and fed him a bite, grinning at his pleased hum. “You won’t mind me turning grey, will you?”

“No. I won’t be the only one looking old.”

She nuzzled his temple. “You don’t look old. You’re refined.”

“Sure,” he scoffed. They ate silently for a bit, but then he squeezed her tighter. “What did you...” Trepidation lurked behind his question, even after their steamy picnic. “What did you wish for?”

“That we’ll keep loving each other, even through tough times.” She lowered the fork, already full. “That I’ll like my new job.” Letting go of him, she set the plate on the metal stairs, next to his ashtray. “That you’ll be healthy.”

He huffed. “You shouldn’t have wasted any on me.”

“You’re worth all of them.” She kissed his bicep, laid her head on his shoulder. The record playing in the background turned over, switched to a slower song, and she grinned. “Now,” she said, “may I have this dance?”

Delight in his eyes, he bowed. She giggled as he grabbed her around the middle and pulled her flush against his solid frame. He led beautifully, gazing at her as if she was the only woman in the world, guiding her to the beat she was deaf to. He even dared to raise her hand for a modest twirl, and she trusted him enough for it to work.

As they spun slowly, rotating in the lights of their living room and the city, he kissed her hairline. “Happy birthday. I hope you liked it.”

“I loved it.” She captured his thin lips with her own. “Promise you’ll be here for the next twenty.”

“The next forty.” He bumped their noses and lay his cheek on hers. Y/N cuddled deeper into his embrace, feeling more cherished than she had in years.

~~~~~

Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing

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ronnytherandom · 3 years

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Only A Few Things But A Lot To Say On Some

1/2/2021: Ponyo

Beautiful. Holy shit. The best stuff. Everything in this is so lovely, it brought me to tears. I can barely put into words just how much I enjoyed this film. Aside from the Standard Ghibli Rules, it has moments of exceptional humanity which really push this film to its own level; everyone’s just so nice to each other. This might be my favourite Ghibli film.

2/2/2021: The Prince of Egypt

Really very good. Technically impressive all around. The art is beautiful, the VA is impressive and the music is powerful. Its even powerfully emotional at moments, especially just after they cross the Red Sea. I think notably here the integration of CG effects with the animation has aged quite well which helps moments such as the Red Sea climax remain especially impactful, I especially enjoyed Moses’ revelation scene where the animation is in the style of New Kingdom Egypt inscriptions, I felt that was an interesting style to animate and it reminded me of the classical Greek vase style of animation employed in Apotheon, a game I adore. The music is a key aspect and I think there are a couple of issues but I have mainly praise. Some of the numbers are not so memorable but at least they’re not actively bad; I feel Deliver Us does a fantastic job of carrying the rest of the film. Similarly it exemplifies the excellent Hebrew singing which I absolutely love the presence of, to a degree where I wish there had been more. Obviously this is lacking purely because it’s a film designed for western English audiences but I feel like the music could have been even better with a wider adoption of Hebrew vocals. There are also the excellent bridges in a couple of pieces which really feel like regional music and help root the film in its north African setting. I do feel however that the film suffers for appearing in the era where animated musicals were changing the format a little and I think the songs could do to be sung “physically” in the film with more consistency. Imagine how much more powerful the final scenes would be if you could see the Hebrews singing rather than simply waving random instruments around. I think this film also does an excellent job in not whitewashing a Jewish story as much as is typically found in western Christianity. I can’t speak to the hiring of white actors for Jewish and Egyptians roles as I do not know the casts nationality but I think that a western production portraying a non-white Moses would be notable in Christian media even by present standards.

4/2/2021: Corpse Bride

Wonderful, short and sweet and masterfully done. Id argue that every aspect of this film demonstrates excellence, VA through animation through directing through soundtrack. Especially the soundtrack, Mr Elfman is the MVP as per usual; I’m going to have this theme stuck in my head for hours. This is in no small part due to the sheer star power of the production, so many big names, though above all others it is a joy to hear Christopher Lees voice. The plot doesn’t bore as it is always moving; to be expected given the short run time but it isn’t so fast paced as to be overbearing. I feel the musical moments aid in that regard by effectively extending moments of exposition over longer periods than would be achieved merely through dialogue while adding a lot of fun. I think its evident that a lot of fun was also had in designing the characters and using undead qualities to create fun gimmicks though I wonder where on earth all the women’s organs are supposed to be? The humour is very good, very dry, but I like that. I don’t think anything falls flat. And I really appreciate the message about not always sticking to the plan and about finding your own way in a world that strives to constrain you, rolling with the punches and not letting misfortune and mistakes keep you down.

7/2/2021: Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017, 14 hours inc. Resurrection DLC)

This is a good game with some problems, mostly minor though. Thankfully I didn’t play it while it was a hellhole of microtransactions but the legacy of that policy can still be felt. While it is good that all abilities and cosmetics are unlocked pretty much from the get go or after a couple hours of gameplay the “live service and microtransactions” design philosophy often creates an inefficient UI which manifests as all the character menus being a bit of a chore to work through especially when unlocking new abilities. The animations are nice but get old very quickly and id rather just have the damn thing. There is also that the story is pretty weak in both the main game and the dlc. Missions don’t feel like they play into a wider arc. There was certainly the potential to have a thoughtful examination of Iden Versio’s deradicalisation but it isn’t built as a slow process and doesn’t create any drama, she simply flips to the Good Guys pretty much immediately and I think that’s a shame as the story they’ve actually decided to tell is very weak given that it occurs almost entirely in 2 cutscenes and the rest of everything is just plot and events with no real purpose except to facilitate gameplay. There is also the issue of nostalgia where every other level of the story is a “remember this?” moment which serve simply as set pieces and a facsimile of what once was with Supermarket Own Brand versions of the OG characters. Resurrection is not much better but it is better, and I think its testament to the fact that the inferno squad actors were genuinely trying as it’s the only point of the story where I felt even a tinge of emotional rapport. There are some minor gameplay gripes, like why on earth does the game keep changing my loadout between levels and then provide a chest to alter then when it could in fact just use a preparation menu before the mission starts. Maybe also something should be done about enemies spawning in sight or even immediately behind you? Minor gripes aside the gameplay is solid and satisfying. Characters feel good to move with, guns are fun to shoot (though they don’t really differ too much in identity) and abilities feel impactful. I adore the idea behind the little reloading minigame, I think that is superb, as well as other additions to the battlefront format such as the expansion of class roles and abilities. Most of the heroes are very fun to play as, especially anyone with a jetpack, but I protest at the consistent failure to bring jedi into videogames. You just need to refer to the Jedi Knight games; it hasn’t been done better since. As is its fine but underwhelming. I think from a gameplay standpoint everything comes together as beautifully as the visuals but everything around it needs a little bit more attention.

#ponyo #prince of eqypt #corpse bride #star wars battlefront 2 #star wars #film #animation #video games #opinion #i dont know what im doing

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