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physalian · 17 days

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8 Signs your Sequel Needs Work

Sequels, and followup seasons to TV shows, can be very tricky to get right. Most of the time, especially with the onslaught of sequels, remakes, and remake-quels over the past… 15 years? There’s a few stand-outs for sure. I hear Dune Part 2 stuck the landing. Everyone who likes John Wick also likes those sequels. Spiderverse 2 also stuck the landing.

These are less tips and more fundamental pieces of your story that may or may not factor in because every work is different, and this is coming from an audience’s perspective. Maybe some of these will be the flaws you just couldn’t put your finger on before. And, of course, these are all my opinions, for sequels and later seasons that just didn’t work for me.

1. Your vague lore becomes a gimmick

The Force, this mysterious entity that needs no further explanation… is now quantifiable with midichlorians.

In The 100, the little chip that contains the “reincarnation” of the Commanders is now the central plot to their season 6 “invasion of the bodysnatchers” villains.

In The Vampire Diaries, the existence of the “emotion switch” is explicitly disputed as even existing in the earlier seasons, then becomes a very real and physical plot point one can toggle on and off.

I love hard magic systems. I love soft magic systems, too. These two are not evolutions of each other and doing so will ruin your magic system. People fell in love with the hard magic because they liked the rules, the rules made sense, and everything you wrote fit within those rules. Don’t get wacky and suddenly start inventing new rules that break your old ones.

People fell in love with the soft magic because it needed no rules, the magic made sense without overtaking the story or creating plot holes for why it didn’t just save the day. Don’t give your audience everything they never needed to know and impose limitations that didn’t need to be there.

Solving the mystery will never be as satisfying as whatever the reader came up with in their mind. Satisfaction is the death of desire.

2. The established theme becomes un-established

I talked about this point already in this post about theme so the abridged version here: If your story has major themes you’ve set out to explore, like “the dichotomy of good and evil” and you abandon that theme either for a contradictory one, or no theme at all, your sequel will feel less polished and meaningful than its predecessor, because the new story doesn’t have as much (if anything) to say, while the original did.

Jurassic Park is a fantastic, stellar example. First movie is about the folly of human arrogance and the inherent disaster and hubris in thinking one can control forces of nature for superficial gains. The sequels, and then sequel series, never returns to this theme (and also stops remembering that dinosaurs are animals, not generic movie monsters). JP wasn’t just scary because ahhh big scary reptiles. JP was scary because the story is an easily preventable tragedy, and yes the dinosaurs are eating people, but the people only have other people to blame. Dinosaurs are just hungry, frightened animals.

Or, the most obvious example in Pixar’s history: Cars to Cars 2.

3. You focus on the wrong elements based on ‘fan feedback’

We love fans. Fans make us money. Fans do not know what they want out of a sequel. Fans will never know what they want out of a sequel, nor will studios know how to interpret those wants. Ask Star Wars. Heck, ask the last 8 books out of the Percy Jackson universe.

Going back to Cars 2 (and why I loathe the concept of comedic relief characters, truly), Disney saw dollar signs with how popular Mater was, so, logically, they gave fans more Mater. They gave us more car gimmicks, they expanded the lore that no one asked for. They did try to give us new pretty racing venues and new cool characters. The writers really did try, but some random Suit decided a car spy thriller was better and this is what we got.

The elements your sequel focuses on could be points 1 or 2, based on reception. If your audience universally hates a character for legitimate reasons, maybe listen, but if your audience is at war with itself over superficial BS like whether or not she’s a female character, or POC, ignore them and write the character you set out to write. Maybe their arc wasn’t finished yet, and they had a really cool story that never got told.

This could be side-characters, or a specific location/pocket of worldbuilding that really resonated, a romantic subplot, whatever. Point is, careening off your plan without considering the consequences doesn’t usually end well.

4. You don’t focus on the ‘right’ elements

I don’t think anyone out there will happily sit down and enjoy the entirety of Thor: The Dark World. The only reasons I would watch that movie now are because a couple of the jokes are funny, and the whole bit in the middle with Thor and Loki. Why wasn’t this the whole movie? No one cares about the lore, but people really loved Loki, especially when there wasn’t much about him in the MCU at the time, and taking a villain fresh off his big hit with the first Avengers and throwing him in a reluctant “enemy of my enemy” plot for this entire movie would have been amazing.

Loki also refuses to stay dead because he’s too popular, thus we get a cyclical and frustrating arc where he only has development when the producers demand so they can make maximum profit off his character, but back then, in phase 2 world, the mystery around Loki was what made him so compelling and the drama around those two on screen was really good! They bounced so well off each other, they both had very different strengths and perspectives, both had real grievances to air, and in that movie, they *both* lost their mother. It’s not even that it’s a bad sequel, it’s just a plain bad movie.

The movie exists to keep establishing the Infinity Stones with the red one and I can’t remember what the red one does at this point, but it could have so easily done both. The powers that be should have known their strongest elements were Thor and Loki and their relationship, and run with it.

This isn’t “give into the demands of fans who want more Loki” it’s being smart enough to look at your own work and suss out what you think the most intriguing elements are and which have the most room and potential to grow (and also test audiences and beta readers to tell you the ugly truth). Sequels should feel more like natural continuations of the original story, not shameless cash grabs.

5. You walk back character development for ~drama~

As in, characters who got together at the end of book 1 suddenly start fighting because the “will they/won’t they” was the juiciest dynamic of their relationship and you don’t know how to write a compelling, happy couple. Or a character who overcame their snobbery, cowardice, grizzled nature, or phobia suddenly has it again because, again, that was the most compelling part of their character and you don’t know who they are without it.

To be honest, yeah, the buildup of a relationship does tend to be more entertaining in media, but that’s also because solid, respectful, healthy relationships in media are a rarity. Season 1 of Outlander remains the best, in part because of the rapid growth of the main love interest’s relationship. Every season after, they’re already married, already together, and occasionally dealing with baby shenanigans, and it’s them against the world and, yeah, I got bored.

There’s just so much you can do with a freshly established relationship: Those two are a *team* now. The drama and intrigue no longer comes from them against each other, it’s them together against a new antagonist and their different approaches to solving a problem. They can and should still have distinct personalities and perspectives on whatever story you throw them into.

6. It’s the same exact story, just Bigger

I have been sitting on a “how to scale power” post for months now because I’m still not sure on reception but here’s a little bit on what I mean.

Original: Oh no, the big bad guy wants to destroy New York

Sequel: Oh no, the big bad guy wants to destroy the planet

Threequel: Oh no, the big bad guy wants to destroy the galaxy

You knew it wasn’t going to happen the first time, you absolutely know it won’t happen on a bigger scale. Usually, when this happens, plot holes abound. You end up deleting or forgetting about characters’ convenient powers and abilities, deleting or forgetting about established relationships and new ground gained with side characters and entities, and deleting or forgetting about stakes, themes, and actually growing your characters like this isn’t the exact same story, just Bigger.

How many Bond movies are there? Thirty-something? I know some are very, very good and some are not at all good. They’re all Bond movies. People keep watching them because they’re formulaic, but there’s also been seven Bond actors and the movies aren’t one long, continuous, self-referential story about this poor, poor man who has the worst luck in the universe. These sequels aren’t “this but bigger” it’s usually “this, but different”, which is almost always better.

“This, but different now” will demand a different skillset from your hero, different rules to play by, different expectations, and different stakes. It does not just demand your hero learn to punch harder.

Example: Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2 does have more influence than Tai Lung, yes. He’s got a whole city and his backstory is further-reaching, but he’s objectively worse in close combat—so he doesn’t fistfight Po. He has cannons, very dangerous cannons, cannons designed to be so strong that kung fu doesn’t matter. Thus, he’s not necessarily “bigger” he’s just “different” and his whole story demands new perspective.

The differences between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are numerous, but the latter relies on “but bigger” and the former went in a whole new direction, while still staying faithful to the themes of the original.

7. It undermines the original by awakening a new problem too soon

I’ve already complained about the mere existence of Heroes of Olympus elsewhere because everything Luke fought and died for only bought that world about a month of peace before the gods came and ripped it all away for More Story.

I’ve also complained that the Star Wars Sequels were always going to spit in the face of a character’s six-movie legacy to bring balance to the Force by just going… nah. Ancient prophecy? Only bought us about 30 years of peace.

Whether it’s too soon, or it’s too closely related to the original, your audience is going to feel a little put-off when they realize how inconsequential this sequel makes the original, particularly in TV shows that run too many seasons and can’t keep upping the ante, like Supernatural.

Kung Fu Panda once again because these two movies are amazing. Shen is completely unrelated to Tai Lung. He’s not threatening the Valley of Peace or Shifu or Oogway or anything the heroes fought for in the original. He’s brand new.

My yearning to see these two on screen together to just watch them verbally spat over both being bratty children disappointed by their parents is unquantifiable. This movie is a damn near perfect sequel. Somebody write me fanfic with these two throwing hands over their drastically different perspectives on kung fu.

8. It’s so divorced from the original that it can barely even be called a sequel

Otherwise known as seasons 5 and 6 of Lost. Otherwise known as: This show was on a sci-fi trajectory and something catastrophic happened to cause a dramatic hairpin turn off that path and into pseudo-biblical territory. Why did it all end in a church? I’m not joking, they did actually abandon The Plan while in a mach 1 nosedive.

I also have a post I’ve been sitting on about how to handle faith in fiction, so I’ll say this: The premise of Lost was the trials and escapades of a group of 48 strangers trying to survive and find rescue off a mysterious island with some creepy, sciency shenanigans going on once they discover that the island isn’t actually uninhabited.

Season 6 is about finding “candidates” to replace the island’s Discount Jesus who serves as the ambassador-protector of the island, who is also immortal until he’s not, and the island becomes a kind of purgatory where they all actually did die in the crash and were just waiting to… die again and go to heaven. Spoiler Alert.

This is also otherwise known as: Oh sh*t, Warner Bros wants more Supernatural? But we wrapped it up so nicely with Sam and Adam in the box with Lucifer. I tried to watch one of those YouTube compilations of Cas’ funny moments because I haven’t seen every episode, and the misery on these actors’ faces as the compilation advanced through the seasons, all the joy and wit sucked from their performances, was just tragic.

I get it. Writers can’t control when the Powers That Be demand More Story so they can run their workhorse into the ground until it stops bleeding money, but if you aren’t controlled by said powers, either take it all back to basics, like Cars 3, or just stop.

—

Sometimes taking your established characters and throwing them into a completely unrecognizable story works, but those unrecongizable stories work that much harder to at least keep the characters' development and progression satisfying and familiar. See this post about timeskips that take generational gaps between the original and the sequel, and still deliver on a satisfying continuation.

TLDR: Sequels are hard and it’s never just one detail that makes them difficult to pull off. They will always be compared to their predecessors, always with the expectations to be as good as or surpass the original, when the original had no such competition. There’s also audience expectations for how they think the story, lore, and relationships should progress. Most faults of sequels, in my opinion, lie in straying too far from the fundamentals of the original without understanding why those fundamentals were so important to the original’s success.

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #sequels #kung fu panda

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ophelian-darling · 3 days

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𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Yandere Suguru Geto x Female reader.

Summary : Blessings form in different shapes and bright in different colors; Love being the fairest and liveliest one.

TW : Obsession, minor character death, discrimination, pregnancy, manipulation.

enjoy ♡

It is divine to think how hell would be regarded into grotesquely crimson images within the human imagination: Sufferance is too common, wounds as a thorn prick and lasts as a heart's ache, Yet consider this when we think of heaven: purity- innocence of Eden in its prime, everything that sources its beauty and continence from a glass sphere no soul ever stepped on, farthest from the nearest paradise which we -so far- know of. Every now and then, the glass sphere's page of the sky would rain glossy drops, bright in the charm of a moon's haze, kissing earth's soil ever so gently after a long fall through the dark space. The drop; a seed of everything that derives all good in this life, either blooms into flowers, little joys that are worth living for, or even people- lost angels on devil's land.

Suguru believes he has an eye for perfection: the images of others reflect on his irises and pass, be a fragment of a forgotten dream and ghost in a corner within his anamnesis. life ought to be lived as a sort of a sweven, destined to be erased once the reaper sinks in its teeth; Not like you have much of an option as a sorcerer, you just keep fantasizing and drawing rose-colored glasses about a life you know you can't have, sighing when conjuring a dear friend's lineaments, feeling a warmth under an eyelid when a beloved's smile flickers through a faint image of cogitation. a needle of duty had sewed up every passage to his heart; there was no horizon to look up to, except that one of exorcising curses to no end, saving that little part of happiness that was rightfully his to others who already had a fair share of it.

Suguru would burn the candles of thought and wander around a series of scenarios: what would it be like to love? What color is romance and what taste are kisses? There must be a reason why the moon was put on a pedestal of artistry, or a color of blood to abridge all tongues and words of ardor. There had to be a reason why someone was so eager and willing to hand their hearts on a platter to someone else, someone who was looked upon as the apple of eye. It seemed absurd: humans are merely products of vice, planted to sin and harvested to destroy, every letter and word they utter weighs nothing heavier than a lie, So why would such a morbid creature empty the jar of heart on another morbid creature? It is a wounding, shameless lie.

Cease to feel and halt to sense, there was no meaning in draining the amphora of emotion on someone, a one who can't taste curses to know how much of a grace it's devouring. it's pointless to break the glass of heart over a bod that ignores your agony to indulge in its little world of pink lies. He just wishes- Only if, if he slices that part of him that screamed of humanity everyday, the part that made him extend a wing to shield the helpless from their demise… He hated having a heart.

Once during a green summer, one that had a breeze of May and the pink warmth of Valentine's day, The sphere wrapped a blessing in a curse's fabric; a gift so pristine it competed with the glimpses of eternity with a smile and tore the horizon's edge with a kiss, a form of life that its existence on this cursed land was the vilest injustice ever committed towards its chastity. The Angel; now blossoming from the sphere's seed into a human with flesh and blood, nerves and bones, eyes and a beating heart, is left to be stained and tarnished, munched and swallowed by the imperfect- the bad seeds, the swirl of everything evil. a tear of a curse could lace a sea of blessings, and you had to be protected: from the serpents, the devils, the flawed, or anyone else that wasn't him.

"Y'know, Suguru, sometimes when I look through your eyes, I can see you fighting yourself, as if you were your own worst enemy" You started the conversation like this, so casually, with no hint or intention of digging too deep into his psyche.

July, casting blazing rays and nearly melting the shadows outside, while the pair of you decided to remain in class for no obvious purpose. Suguru didn't mind having you around, aware that you weren't going to engage in tittle-tattling, leaving him with the room to think. It's been a long year.

With a strike of sudden concern, and maybe a little suspicion, He directs his whole posture towards you, noticing your relaxed position on the seat beside his. a silence of something that was about to begin stretched before he asked "What do you mean?"

a Winter night smile drew itself on your lips. In a movement of Bonnie Parker leaning on her motorcycle, you faced his confused comportment, rolling your eyes playfully before replying "You thought that no one would notice? That's cute. but I must admit, you're so good at hiding it, even Satoru wasn't able to see it, I'm surprised!" something brightened in your expression, contradicting the words you just said. As if you were Suguru's Anima; you spoke so confidently, insisting on extracting a part you didn't like of him.

And that confidence stirred a certain sentiment within him. something he would see as… vulnerability?

He stared.

Another silence, silence of an absurd play, one that the audience certainly didn't need to absorb the scene.

You continued "Amanai was a human like any other, someone with dreams and hopes, fears and triggers, and a family- and a lot of friends. she lived her life to the fullest… Well, maybe not completely, but at least she had some taste of blessing before her death. people aspire to horizons, living enough to reach it and sometimes not, savoring both sweet and bitter times before kicking the bucket. But that's not what we're talking about here"

His eyes couldn't get any wider, the images played slowly and vividly while the cassette of that memory didn't seem to stop.

"She's a vessel that can be replaced. Lord Tengen wasn't in that need for her anyway. But are we sorcerers any better? no. we're replaceable as well, unless you are Satoru, which we aren't. Yes, we are strong, but still replaceable. The Jujutsu world needs to continue existing or else cursed spirits will blow everything to bits, and of course, we're the only ones who can keep it going and exorcise these creatures."

Your fingers twiddled with your necklace, rolling it slowly as your tongue flowed. "I wanted to go everywhere too, I wanted to have a lot of friends to love without worrying that they'll die at any second. I wanted to wander around and behold flowers and snow without seeing an ugly cursed spirit…"

His tongue wouldn't unwrap, au contraire to his thoughts. his mind moved as fast as forgetfulness would spell, drinking in all of your heart's tears. Perhaps, after all, he wasn't the only one who awakened to a harsh knowledge.

You, are special.

"It's not fair… why should I be the one who gives up on their happiness to save people who know nothing of my sacrifices…"

"I-.." your rant comes to a halt, a veil of guilt slides down your expression.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to remind you of… back then, I talked too mu-"

"No." He interrupts, his usual resting face painted over.

"You can continue, I understand you…" Suguru smiles.

Ever since the curtain on your heart was pulled, you seemed to confide in him more; drifting away from Satoru and Shoko slowly and subtly. He didn't want to think of it, yet these pages of poems and lines of serenades whispered something to him everytime he looked through you. She must be unhappy too, Unhappy people are sensitive to the unhappiness of others¹. and to confess, it balmed a little comfort on his soul to see that misery brought you together. Day by day, both of you would speak for hours, crafting an imaginary horizon where everything was a haven for a winsome world, goodwills falling like spring rain. Night by night, He who becomes the one to count the nights, scripting his nightdreams and rehearsing his hopes to a shadow of you that lingered in the corners, only for every word to blend into space once the daybreak spills through the clouds.

Your voice; it is the voice of his mind now. The shadow of you is melodizing his thoughts and troubles of the heart, lulling his reveries and caroling his visions. The pages of romance flip like petals in the wind: as the silk of your vocal cords tailors the letters with red and pink, he is finally allowed to relish the true colors of so-called love. Yozo² is no longer fool in Suguru's thinking, for wanting to die alongside the one he loved, which Suguru Geto himself now, secretly, hopes to achieve with you.

"Have you ever thought about death?" Green-colored smile, surely wasn't grayed by anything. Suguru just thought, what did you think? Did you want to be with him no matter the place?

The roles have been reversed. now you're the silent one; you were sure that you did talk too much that day, pouring your wounds into him that now they're his wounds. Guilt stinged your heart, only if you remained silent back then.

"Um- yes, I'm already accepting it, we're sorcerers after all…" you struggled to compose a thought he'd like, it came out as what a child attempting wisdom would say. speaking to your friend has become a difficult task lately, you didn't want to lose the thread of thinking you shared together, and he seemed quite pleased to talk to you.

He chuckled.

"Never thought of making it better for yourself at least?"

What…

"I used to think so too. But slowly, I'm finally able to see what I was too blinded to see. Remember when you said that you wanted to have a lot of friends and go everywhere? that's rightful of you to ask- but you can't get it whether you plead for it or not. I'm telling you; I know it very well when I say you can have everything you want if you step up and take control." stated he.

As if looking for any other person who seems to notice that there's something odd, you glanced around. nothing was in sight except the trees and grass of the long forest line.

His face didn't move when he continued "You see, we forgot that we were stronger, smarter and more skilled than the ordinary, say evolution theory: creatures go through a long process of development to become advanced in brain and muscle. some reach the highest stage of development and become a human, while others simply stop in the middle or never start, thus remaining monkeys"

For some reason, you imagined yourself operating on his brain: cleaving the front of his skull with a sharp scalpel, lifting up his scalp in a way a box of chocolates would be opened, unwrapping and milling his brain convolutions, looking through his memory and mind's eye to see when and where these ideas have crossed his mind so you can uproot them- it is your fault, you filled him with so much tangles for a sweetly simple soul as him.

"...And since monkeys can't survive on their own, we were the ones who would acquire and use their talents to establish Jujutsu and save them, doing it out of kindness and altruism, they give us curses and we cure them in response, continually and with no recognition of our merit…"

Something in his eyes twitched; he sounded as if he was letting go of an ancient burden, the Messiah's cross thrown off by his back.

"... You, me, Satoru or anyone who uses Jujutsu is the purest form of life on this earth, we're destined to rule as much as we were to protect, to punish as we were to love. we sorcerers are chosen by the heavens…"

"...Monkeys must die." the corners of his mouth were altered to a frantic excitement, seeming like he'd seen after years of being dim sighted.

It is a blessing to be ignorant.

It started out subtly. Suguru would continue smiling- the line and twist on his face metamorphosed into one you have no knowledge of: it was strange, uncannily simple and eerily sweet, more of looking at a portrait of a goner and less of seeing a friend. His compassion faded, a mock-lively kindness replaced it, by the nature a moonlight would mimic a sunray's warmth. it is not change, nor epiphany; your friend was dying with no hearse set or heart settled- Suguru slept to no awakening so the priest in Gojo-gesa can breathe to every aspect of life.

Eyes that used to behold the blessings in everything are now glaring with violence, gnashing its teeth to whoever and whatever didn't wield any cursed energy. it is visible for you to only see, all of the ink and blood jarred behind his eyes, masked perfectly and contained in a patient smile he wore to his subjects— our subjects darling! he would say, giving you a saddened look, as if his gift of a thousand obedient monkey wasn't enough to thrill you as much as it did to him.

“You know how much I love you, right?” he murmured, holding your hand. your eyes pierced the reflection on the vanity glass: a husband and a wife sharing an intimate moment, scenery of a devoted Genji holding a torn Fujitsubo³ and kissing away all of her distress. you switched your sight towards his hand, the one that stroked yours, the one that had on its ring finger a silver band twirled.

“And I'm willing to offer you everything I have, anything you want” He placed a kiss on the crown of your head, billing and cooing in his words “I just ask for a little smile in return, or a little ‘thank you’ for everything I do to us”

“You're taking advantage of innocent people, Suguru”

He scoffs “Are they really that innocent?! All they do is cause destruction and corruption. you're too kind to even call them people” the last word dropped like a glob of mercury, heavy and tarnishing. he's annoyed for sure that you ruined the romantic mood by mentioning monkeys yet again.

“You're murdering people who came to you for help, Suguru…”

You saw it without looking at it, the flash of rage and loathing, with all its redness and heat a fire had less or more of. you hoped in despair ,maybe there's still the lingering blush of compassion in his heart; the comity of your dear friend Suguru, not the hatred of your husband the monk. His fist flew in front of your face, grabbing your chin and rotating your skull to his penetrating eyes. for a second, a thread was pulled in your chest, cutting your heart with a feeling of fear, was he about to strike you?

“I told you thousands of times… those you cry for so much are. not. people. Do you understand me?!” He pressed on each word, heavy breath fanning your face. you could only look back and try not to recoil under his gaze.

“They ruin our lives, they kill us, they cause suffering and they taint this earth with their filthy emotions… if it wasn't me who gets rid of them and cleans their trash, only heaven knew how much time left for us to live…” he digs his nails into your flesh, gritting his teeth at you “They made you unhappy, they tried to kill me while I was risking my life to save them everyday!” he raised his hands in the air, snarling with full volume. you're sure that Nanako and Mimiko are in another room hearing, and utterly aware of their agreement and devotion to Suguru.

Frantically, he unwrapped his Gojo-gesa and threw it on the floor, shooting you a glare while he freed himself from the sleeves of his haori. his stare kept lining yours, and when he stripped from the white hada-juban, you've seen it, as if at first sight.

“Shouldn't a wife support her husband?! Why do I feel like everything else except for me matters to you?!” He yelled. it is not the first time you see the scar on his chest, in fact, you've seen it too many times that its lines were as familiar as the dimness of your eyelids.

“Whom am I doing this all for?! for us! for our family! they're just like us, they've been belittled and cursed by monkeys and they had their happiness snatched brutally from their hands… all just because they were sorcerers” he calmed, yet not eased judging by how sharp his expression was. He dropped his arms to his side, reaching to cup your face and force you to see his eyes “You were hurt too… you begged me to save you years ago… you do remember the day we sat together in class and talked”

You do remember.

The echo of that hour reverberated through his eyes. in their dark shade, you watched a reflection of yourself, helpless and gray, sew the first threads of his insanity. you wished if life had been a little more cruel and tore off your tongue before you ever got the chance to speak with him.

It's you who chiseled the priest.

He feathered a finger across your cheek, crooning honey “And you remember our dates too, all the kisses and embraces, our wedding and our nights together…” serene as a sea in spring, animating the past into a sweet lull. his eyes smiled to you, cording your heart when continuing “You love me, you love our family, our paradise— and him” His palm spidered to your stomach, stroking the node of flesh “You would never abandon him, would you?”

Can you even? He sojourned far in, tethered to you through a wall of flesh with a string stretching inside of him. the memory of his existence would carve lines in both of your bodies even after his birth.

“You're so selfless, that's why I fell for you darling” whispered he, drinking your silence in taste of obedience. Was there any release from the cuffs you wrapped around your own wrists? Suguru wasn't an imprisoner, he just smelted a bracelet you wished to wear, eager to please and in hunger for your praise, while you, in words and smiles, altered his brain to see in dark color.

“Why don't you say you love me?” he coated demand with love, pouring foam on your ears in a whisper.

Your skin felt light underneath, like you could walk out of it as a coat. In times like these, when he gave affection and demanded it back, you could only say one thing, unlike a full colored prism of flirtation he can murmur to you.

“I love you so much, Suguru…” at first, saying it was like uprooting a rotting tooth, but as time passed and your tongue knew the taste of lying, it became like picking a fruit.

He smiled “Good girl…”

His eyes glinted in red “...I love you too…”

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gogandmagog · 28 days

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✨Anne Blythe’s (Anne Shirley-Blythe’s namesake granddaughter) father is not Jem. It’s Shirley. It’s totally Shirley, you guys. It’s gotta be.✨

And like, Ieading right off by saying of course there’s no definitive answer to be had here, since Maud obviously isn’t available to confirm or refute any hypothesises, but I do big persist in suggesting that a very rational case can be presented for Shirley... one that at least outweighs what I now see as the generally baseless widely accepted assumption that Anne is Jem’s daughter. Keep in mind, I’m in no way trying to dog on this. The assumption is ready and easy to make, and I’d accepted fully this theory too, until about a week agooo.

ABOUT A WEEK AGO, I was poring over various Wikipedia entries for the Anne book series, and inevitably also ended up looking through the edit history of those pages. While sorting through the edit history (super extensive and interesting, by the way), the username ‘blefebvre’ popped into the archive, contributing a ton of information to the Anne pages overall, around 2008 and 2009 particularly. And literally, who else could this user be besides THE Benjamin Lefebvre? Brilliant Maud scholar and essayist, inexhaustible editor and publisher of ‘the Blythes are Quoted’? Welllll, one of these edits, a written family tree of Anne and Gilbert’s grandchildren, mentioned Anne Blythe... and pointedly noted that she was either the daughter of Jem or Shirley.

Reading that? Already a huge jump-scare surprise to me. This immediately challenged what I thought I knew about the third generation of Blythes. I sat straight up in bed, brain doing a nosedive, like wait wait wait wait wait… hold on, what? We don’t know for sure? We don’t know for sure?

Guys. We don’t know for sure.

Whichhhhh sent me on an immediate hunt to gather up what we do know for sure. The facts we do have. And it wasn’t a huge task, either… there’s really not a lot to collect.

But here it is:

In ‘the Blythes are Quoted’, Anne Blythe is mentioned in only one story, titled “The Road to Yesterday” (not to be confused with the TBAQ abridged predecessor book of the same title 😅).

All we really have of her is her name, and a couple of superficial second-hand anecdotes from a guy named Jerry (who is impersonating a fellow named Dick, but more on this a little later).

Her paternity is unconfirmed, but because her surname is Blythe (not Ford or Meredith), we can logically eliminate the possibility of her belonging to Nan, Di, or Rilla. Walter was, of course, lost in France. This leaves Jem and Shirley.

Tiny details about Anne.

As a matter of housekeeping, let me try to get the jump on any potential counter-arguments, and clear the air.

The only reason I’ve seen Jem credited with Anne is because…

1. Jem was married.

That’s the entire basis.

And I’ll grant you that. This is more than we got for Shirley. But let’s remember that at the end of ‘Rilla of Ingleside’, we only had a canon engagement between Jem and Faith... it takes getting around to ‘the Blythes are Quoted’ to absolutely conclude that their marriage went through. With the added extra bonus of finding out that they have children.

But even allowing that, ‘the Blythes are Quoted’ as an epilogue isn’t all inclusive. It isn’t a complete picture. It’s half a picture at the very best. Maud, pressured greatly, basically dumped all her disorganised, non-chronological and unedited Anne relevant WIPS + short stories + poems on her publisher's desk two days before she died. This is not a book that Maud put together, as a tailpiece collection. It was an assortment of partial works and in-character conversations that she’d tinkered with over decades. Works she never intended to see being published. They were vague ideas she was forming, little seeds. (It took a lot of effort from Benjamin Lefebvre to put TBAQ together in a readable way that made sense.)

Maud was over Anne. Over Anne by twenty years, at this point. So much so that noticeable character details and world building started slipping in Ingleside and Rilla… for obvious instance, in the lack of continuity around Shirley’s birth year, and the way readers saw almost no closure/representation for Shirley and Di, with varying degrees of near erasure in the original books.

But this doesn’t mean that Maud didn’t have plans for these two characters... their incomplete or unsatisfying stories certainly weren’t nefariously intended to be that way (there’s no secret meaning to the exclusion); Montgomery was just depleted and had been feeling ruinously dispassionate about the Blythes stories since ‘Anne of the Island’.

In ‘Reading Rilla’ we see in Maud’s many pages of left-out notes, that an ultimately scrapped journal entry from Rilla indicates that Diana Blythe wrote to their mother of her engagement to a foreign overseas officer. It’s unclear if this officer is the same ‘Austin boy’ that an older Glen woman in ‘the Blythes are Quoted’ privately wonders about (if Di 'really is engaged to him or not'), but this contradictory bit is probably just erroneous gossip from an unreliable narrator.

Anyway. All of this to say... that just because we don’t have a canon marriage for Shirley, it doesn’t disqualify him from having had a wife and kids in Maud’s post-war Four Winds. TBAQ stories were, to reiterate, half-pictures. Pictures that did/could drop a plot bomb in a single sentence. Looping back to Di, canonly we don’t have a marriage for her either... and yet, we do have two engagements that half-register. One engagement was definitive, reported by Di herself. The other a passing curiosity from someone not close enough to the Blythe family to know.

So... clearly, Maud had active intention, a plan, for Di and her own little happy epilogue. The same can be believed for Shirley. (I’m dying for the day the ‘Rainbow Valley’ and ‘Ingleside’ manuscripts get published, I’m convinced there’s more Shirley be found in the notes.) Now, let’s dig in to Anne Blythe herself.

‘The Road to Yesterday’ is a short story about a woman named Susette (a spinster at 28), who is on the brink of an engagement to a wealthy man named Harvey Brooks. She expects the next day to be proposed to. On a whim and feeling nostalgic, she drives to Glen St. Mary, where she lived in her girlhood, for the evening. While there, she runs into a fellow, whom she believes to be Dick, her childhood bully who she hated profoundly. Except now, they’re grown and capable acting chummy over their shared memories. The weather takes a bad turn, and they take shelter and a meal together. Susette spends most of the time, all their ‘do you remembers’, being irritated by Dick’s constant name-dropping of the Blythes. He claims to have been kind of secret friends with Anne Blythe, which is contrary to Susette’s memory that Anne hated Dick. (In the end, it turns out that Susette was right… this isn’t Dick she’s talking to. It’s Jerry Thornton, Dick’s cousin.)

For the official record every Blythe mentioned in ‘the Road to Yesterday’ is as follows: Doctor Blythe, Mrs. Doctor Blythe, Rilla Ford, Jem Blythe [Jr.], Di Meredith [Jerry and Nan’s], and Anne Blythe.

It’s mostly a bunch of school yard talk, but the big takeaway for this purpose is that the Blythe/Meredith cousins all hung out together as school children.

Here’s some direct examples:

*****

The cheap boiled-down version of this exchange, for those who haven’t ‘the Road to Yesterday’ is basically: Susette is having strange feelings during this interaction with ‘Dick’, she’s attracted to him, declaring to herself that she won’t fall in love with him, and is clearly irritated with the near constant Anne Blythe (especially)/Blythe references. Though she herself was very fond of Jem Blythe Jr. herself, during their childhood, ‘Dick’ mentioning Anne Blythe so fondly is increasingly Not Cute to Susette. Meanwhile, ‘Dick’ is enjoying this kind of teasing, and is lowkey successful at getting a rise out of Susette, not matter how determined she is to look unaffected.

But here’s the kicker... when ‘Dick’ finally leaves off mentioning Anne Blythe, guess what topic he moves on to? 🥁

The Royal Canadian Air Force.

And just who do we all know that was in the Royal Canadian Air Force?

Shirley.

Only Shirley.

First, it tracks that ‘Dick,’ soon enlisting (we’re on the brink of WWII timeline-wise), and thinking himself funny, would choose to move on from Anne Blythe to instead a subtler rib… what he, as a once good pal of Anne’s, would know was Anne’s dad’s war faction. It’s also in the realm of possibilities that thinking on Anne so much drew up this correlation. I also ALSO think it’s worth mentioning that the only other time that the Canadian Air Force is mentioned in TBAQ is a very passing drop for Rilla, thinking of her son Gilbert Ford enlisting with the CAF. That’s it. Just those two times.

Additionally important to note is the overall subtext tone in TBAQ, which is Maud’s very greatest collection of double-vision, double-speak and intertextual reference works. There’s a beautiful scholarly essay on this, in relation to TBAQ particularly HERE.

This doesn’t only apply to cultural references in TBAQ. It also adds layers to Maud’s own existing Anne series. It really could be considered a companion piece, with X-Ray vision, e.g. how we got a ton of ‘missing’ insight into Anne and her children’s lives and minds, during the Rainbow Valley era, in Part 1 of TBAQ.

Part 2 of TBAQ (where we find ‘the Road to Yesterday’) asks us to apply what we already know to the new text we’re given.

So, understanding this … if we’re going off what we already know from ‘Rilla of Ingleside’…

What’s the reason we have the Canadian Air Force mentioned in the same story that we learn of the existence of Anne Blythe? The connection?

It’s Shirley. 🥹

A weaker argument that I’ll only mention in mild passing, because it is very weak in terms of convincing evidence, is that the text unambiguously tells is that Anne Blythe has taught ‘Dick’ from Susan’s famous recipes. Susan is another Shirley tie. It’s there to be stated. BUT. I do admit that I think Susan would’ve taught every willing Blythe grandchild with the same zeal, maybe some partiality given to the Little Brown Boy’s kid(s).

BUT, for me?

I’m properly convinced here.

Shirley was a dad, ya’ll.

#long and messy post #wrote this out in twenty minutes and i’m certain it’s utterly infested with grammatical errors and typos so i already beg your forgiveness #IF ANYONE would like to take up a counter-argument i am fully sat #shirley blythe #meta #lucy maud montgomery #the blythes are quoted

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cyberphuck · 2 months

Text

ROYAL ASSASSIN ABRIDGED: PART ONE My friend Razz wants to understand my shitposting about Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, but they don’t want to actually have to read the books, so I’m summarizing it for them (and you)! When we last left Fitzy-Fitz, it was a really fucking long time ago, sorry, I stopped going to church and learned to chainsmoke (and this book is LONG, I mean it’s LOOOOOOONG, so I kept avoiding getting started on Abridging it, lmao). You can brush up on the frankly insane amount of different characters here at the Royal Assassin Cast of Characters post, or find the links to the rest of the Farseer Trilogy Abridged series here at this link here.

- Fitz awakens one fine October morning in a bed at Jhaampe hospital, where he's been recovering from being poisoned and poisoned and bludgeoned and kicked and drowned. At first he was having eighty seizures a day, but now that it's down to only twenty-five seizures a day, he and Burrich figure it's high time for the two of them to skedaddle before they get snowed in.

Then, exactly like that scene in Attack on Titan where Eren reaches for a spoon and accidentally turns into a Titan, Fitz drops a spoon and accidentally turns into a seizure. It's a lot less cool. He wakes up hours later back in the same damn hospital bed with Jonqui the King's Sister and now healer sitting beside him.

"This sucks," he whines.

"Time heals all wounds, Pull-Out Fail," Jonqui says sagely.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm fifteen and obviously know a lot more than you about healing, and I've decided I'm never going to get better."

Burrich strides healthily into the room with a swanky new skunk stripe in his hair where his skull was recently cracked open. "What-ho, Lil Accident, are you ready to go back to Buckkeep?"

"No. Everybody's gonna make fun of me. You go back without me."

"So long as you wear that collar," Burrich says solemnly, "I must follow you."

Fitz touches the black collar with the word DADDY on it in gold letters. "The way you followed my father?"

"Yes."

"Was it like, a sex thing?"

Burrich, who has enough hidden piercings to set off a metal detector at twenty paces, asks, "Are we going back to Buckkeep or what? I'm getting kind of bored sitting here watching you do the Harlem Shake."

"Also, I heard that Molly's candle shop was foreclosed on and she had to go live with relatives in a town that's about to be raided by Vikings," The Fool says from under the bed.

"Gosh, I wish I could talk to King Shrewd or the Fool or find out what's happening to Molly," Fitz sighs, then sits up as the room fills with the wavy lines and harp glissando of a dream sequence.

"Wake up, King Shrewd," the Fool says. He's sitting on a chair, not under the bed or in a hay bale for once, and Fitz finds it extremely disturbing.

"Fool? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, King Shrewd and not Fitz, I have to be here because you're sick and old," the Fool fools. "Here, let me fluff your pillows and feed you soup."

"This is so weird," Shrewd-Fitz says. "I feel like... oh, the Skill line is ringing. What? Vikings are viking Siltbay so late in the fall?"

"You know, it's creepy when you talk to yourself like that," the Fool mutters.

But Shitz (Shrewd-Fitz) is already on a Skill video call, watching the Red-Ship Raiders pulling up onto the coast. Vikings run through the town, viking everything in sight. The raiders are wading through blood up to their knees, people are running around headless and on fire, it's awful. The raiders aren't even stealing anything-- they're just wrecking stuff, which anyone who's been to a Raiders game can attest to (go Cowboys).

"Fool," Shitz says. "You can see the future, right?"

"This is a weird time to reveal that particular nugget of information, but sure. Let's see... ah, yes. I see a bard who can't fucking read the room trying to find a rhyme for 'dismembered child.' That is not something Jaydee made up, it's a real line from the book."

"Thank you, Fool, that's extremely fucked up," Shitz says. "Oh wait, who's this on the video call... It's Molly! Oh SHIT, it's Molly and Vikings are going to vike her!"

But Molly wasn't called Molly Nosebleed as a kid because she's a trembling little violet. A Viking tries to vike her and she stabs him to death, whirls around and shouts "WHO WANTS SOME, MOTHERFUCKERS?!"

Then a house falls on her.

"Oh god, oh fuck," Shitz says, panicking. "Fool, use your future vision and tell me if Molly's okay!"

"A bunch of women died in a bunch of horrible ways," the Fool says. "Do you want me to list them?"

"No," Shitz says, and so the Fool doesn't spend two pages describing the graphic sexual assault, murder, and maiming of a bunch of townsfolk. Shitz sits back in his bed. "Run off and let Verity know Siltbay is being viked."

Ever loyal, the Fool cartwheels down the stairs. Then Shitz sighs and says, "Man, being old sucks."

"Yes it does, so quit your fucking whining about your little seizures and come home," Shrewd says, and ends the Skill call.

The next morning, Fitz-Fitz packs up his stuff and heads out with Burrich and Hands to make the long boring trip back to Buckkeep.

The return to Buckkeep sucks especially hard because they have to take the 99 instead of the I-5 like last time, and Fitz is getting carsick. Along the way they keep having to stay in incredibly sketch Super 8s, which wouldn't be that bad (free soap and free weird smells!) but Burrich and Hands overhear someone standing out in the hallway talking loudly on their phone about how much King Shrewd fucking sucks.

"Yeah he keeps raising taxes to 'defend our country' or whatever but Vikings are still viking the beach towns as much as they want," had said the Buckboi in the hallway. "You know who rules, though, Prince Regal!"

"What towns did Buckboi say were viked?" Fitz asks.

"A town no one cares about," Hands answers solemnly, "and the one where Molly had a house fall on her."

After that incident, Burrich decides that they're gonna make the rest of the trip using surface streets and driving through people's yards. "If Regal finds out you're out here, he'll send someone to kill you," Burrich explains. "Verity's definitely not gonna protect you."

"Is that because he consistently sees me as a tool first and a family member and human being second?"

"Look," Hands interrupts. "I see Buckkeep-shaped lights in the distance." They ride up to the gates, which are guarded by a kid who was born a thousand years too early to be the squeaky-voiced teen working at the drive-thru. “Halt,” he squeaks. “Who the fuck are you?“

Burrich scoffs. ”Who the fuck are YOU?“

”I asked you first!“

”I asked you sec—“

”All right, all right, who's holding up the line?“ The last book had a rich and exhausting cast of random extras murmuring in the background, but this one used all of their budget on talking CGI wolves, so they had to fire most of them and give almost all of their lines to Blade, The Guard Captain. His job is to appear at important moments and say things like 'hear, hear!' and 'how big WAS she?' “Holy shit, it's Burrich! Twitter said you and Chivalry's Post Nut Regret were dead!”

“It's called X now,” Fitz says, emerging dramatically from the shadows.

“Oh.” Blade says, while four of the other guards die of secondhand embarrassment. “H-hi, Chivalry's Pos... I mean... Fitz. You uh. Did you have a nice trip? Hey, you... did something with your hair, it looks... it looks good!”

“Prince Regal was going around telling everyone I was dead, wasn't he,” Fitz says flatly.

“Sometimes I can still hear his voice,“ Regal sighs from somewhere in the castle.

”What? No. What?? No! What?! No!“ Blade laughs as six more guards thud to the ground. ”No, of course not! It was just, you know, like, you know. YOU know. You know. I didn't really believe you were dead, I did retweet the link Regal posted but I commented with 'big if true,' so it wasn't really...”

Fitz smiles. “Ho ho ho, Captain, don't worry your sweet little tits about it. Everyone falls victim to misinformation from time to time, and I accept the apology I assume you were about to provide me. Do carry about your business.”

Halfway up to the stables, Burrich pulls Fitz aside. “Listen, Lil Accident, we're not at Grandma's house anymore,” he hisses. “You can't talk to people like you matter or Regal's gonna get his panties in a knot about it.”

“And then he'll choke me,” Fitz agrees.

“What?”

“With his knotted up panties.“

”I'm also still alive,“ Hands offers after a long silence. ”Fitz, you're too weak and pathetic to wax your own horse, let me do it.“

”But...“

”Come on, Fitz, let Hands, my new favorite child, take care of the important work.“ Burrich takes Fitz's arm. ”Now go on up to the castle, that collar is making everybody question their sexuality.“

”What's a sexuality?“ Fitz asks, just before he's shoved into the castle, screen door banging behind him.

Inside, Fitz looks around and notices that the place looks cleaner than it had before he'd left on the world's worst road trip. All the beer cans and ash trays have been cleaned up, someone's taken down the band posters and put up tasteful watercolors of succulents, and the 'NICE COCK' that had been scrawled above the toilet has been replaced with 'live laugh love.'

”Wrow,“ muses Fitz as he passes a sign on Verity's door that reads 'IF THE WARSHIP'S A-ROCKIN', DON'T COME A-KNOCKIN'. ”I'm kinda gonna miss the crusty sock smell. Good thing my room still reeks like teenaged boy.“

#rote #robin hobb #fitzchivalry farseer #ra abridged #this one's a little rough but I promise I'll warm up

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cthulhu-with-a-fez · 2 months

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i started naruto a few years ago and made it to like the second arc in shippuden before stopping so i never made it to the kakashi backstory but....your notes compel me. tell me more.

okay so like take this with several grains of salt because the sum total of my sources here are "my understanding of the plot and characters as synthesized from the Abridged Revised Illustrated Edition my datemate's been writing me over the last two months", a handful of clips, and the only three (3) episodes of this 600+ episode show i've seen in my life, none of the three of which were relevant to the kakashi backstory

h o w e v e r

oh my god. my dude. my man. [holds him up like longcat] there is so much wrong with you and i'm enthralled.

so like here's the thing. here's the big takeaway that i'm understanding. this whole series is an ongoing exercise in generational trauma bullshit and everyone trying so hard to course-correct from their own tragic backstories that they accidentally set up their kids/students to have completely different but still somehow exactly the same tragic backstories, and naruto's chronic case of shounen anime power-of-friendship-itis is, i mean. yes it's him being the platonic ideal of Pure Of Heart And Dumb Of Ass but it's also a direct response to seeing ninja society's perpetual tragic backstory generator and going "this is bullshit, why are we even fighting? tell me what your side is, and i'll tell you what our side is, and then we can figure out how to make our sides the same side so none of us have to fight about it at all!" and honestly i love that but this ain't about him

so like. to explain kakashi we have to explain kakashi's father sakumo first. because sakumo was one of konoha's powerhouses, been on tons of successful missions, well-liked, well-respected, one of the earliest and loudest adopters of konoha's then-new and radical pivot towards a ninja being people first and disposable tools never ideology.

he really, genuinely believed in that.

except then he and his team went on a mission. and it went really, really badly. and he had to choose between completing the mission objective or saving his teammates' lives, and he chose their lives, because those who fail their missions may be scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse, right?

... no, actually.

just because the ideology had been circulating and people were broadly toeing the party line didn't mean they actually believed in it, and sakumo's mission failure was already causing critical backlash.after sakumo made it back to konoha he was a fucking pariah for it. he was never officially reprimanded, but he didn't need to be if people went out of their way to personally spit at his feet, and... one day young kakashi comes home to find his father's body on the floor, wrists slit and suicide note devolving into begging apologies beside him.

this, as you may imagine, fucked him up, and didn't exactly predispose him towards believing the party line about the value of life.

he gets put on a genin team that was. basically the alpha build of the sasuke-sakura-naruto team dynamic. because it was him, and rin the healer girl with a massive crush on him who he never gave the time of day, and obito the Loudest High-Vis Uchiha Who Ever Lived who had a massive crush on her, and minato their teacher who was doing his absolute best to try and get them through to understanding each other, which is an Ordeal

because kakashi at this point has internalized that the party line is pretty lies for the gullible, that his teammates are only there to drag him down, and it drives obito nuts because that's the same exact bullshit that his family keeps spouting that he's rejected as thoroughly as a 12.9-year-old can, how does kakashi not see that it's bullshit? and there's rin who's looking at kakashi like i can fix him?? and getting upset when he doesn't let them in at all or even really visibly care that they're trying, and it's one hell of a dysfunction junction but minato is working on it.

... and then the worst happens. their team is caught out alone and everything goes wrong. rin is captured and obito's body is half-crushed under a rock and one of kakashi's eyes got slashed out and none of them are going to make it out of this, at this rate, until obito calls kakashi closer and tells him to take his eye. take the sharingan. he'd give him both but the other one got squished. kakashi will do more with it than obito ever did, so use it to save rin. please. and here's kakashi in the middle of field surgery on his dying teammate finally, horribly realizing that sometimes the win condition is, actually, protecting your friends, and he's already lost. but he can still try to save rin, it was obito's dying wish.

by the time he found her it was already too late.

the people who'd captured her had tried, poorly, hastily, messily, to seal one of the Tailed Beasts into her, and she was already dying. she had a demon thrashing in her soul that was tearing her to shreds around it and all kakashi could do was mercy kill her

and she thanked him for it.

and he goes back to konoha, sole survivor of his team, charred by the newfound comprehension of why you have to care and what it feels like to lose what you love and with obito's sharingan in his head and rin's blood on his hands and something in him that was already hanging on by a thread finally snapped.

and the only thing he could think to do, the only way he could even parse that grief through, is to just... make himself into a living memorial to them. he started trying to live as obito. adopt his mannerisms, his interests, craft his entire adult persona around his memories of his friend like a grave offering, and quarantine the bleakly mercenary anything-to-get-the-job-done ice in him off into the hound mask he wore as part of konoha's black ops division, which he joined at the ripe old age of way too fucking young.

he uses the sharingan to incredibly brutally efficient effect, copying enemy jutsus and bringing them back until the library's overflowing with them. but in the end, no matter how many he can technically use, they're still just cheap copies. and so is he.

and in the meantime the uchiha are collectively losing their shit about this random outside kid having one of their eyes in his head and getting all kinds of dubious 'glory' with it, and oh, wouldn't you look at that, they have a prodigy too!

... yeah.

itachi gets shoved through the rank advancements on a timeframe of "whatever he did you have to do it faster and better." and then the kyuubi broke free. and minato and kushina died, and a fuckton of the home guard uchiha died, and suddenly he's the most able-bodied fighter in their clan overnight at age 11 and the uchiha pull strings to get him into ANBU as well.

and kakashi is his teammate.

kakashi is his teammate and kakashi sees in itachi a whole awful lot of the edges of the way kakashi used to be, sees itachi trying to live up to and embody the absolutely impossible ideal of the perfect ninja, and he tries so god damn hard to nudge him gently towards something, anything, other than that.

but in the meantime, the uchiha have been... scheming. with danzo, Guy With The World's Biggest Chip On His Shoulder About Not Being Hokage, who's been marinating in a paranoia spiral for years. danzo had tried to set himself up as kakashi's palpatine, and tried to get him to assassinate hiruzen, and kakashi hears him out, and turns right around and goes to hiruzen with it instead, and danzo is pissed. the uchiha are pissed. danzo warns hiruzen that they're almost definitely going to try again and they're gonna make the uchihas' little prodigy do it this time, and kakashi silently braces to have to fight and maybe kill his teammate he was trying so hard for, and then...

and then itachi, who'd been watching his clan get. worse. for a long time. finds his cousin shisui, his best friend shishui, bleeding out in the dirt, who tells him everything, tells him danzo tried to have shisui killed for finding it out, and it worked, he's dying, but he's not dead yet, so please. make it count.

.......................................... And Then The Uchiha Massacre.

and now itachi is one more person that kakashi tried to care about who got destroyed.

and then fast forward a little bit further, he's been retired from active-duty ANBU after a decade-plus of service because the sharingan is starting to burn him out, he's starting to lurch to a halt like unwound clockwork without something to Do, and... he gets given team seven. the worst of konoha's gremlin children.

a bitter, disillusioned loner with a chip on his shoulder and the skill to back it up, the healer girl with a crush on him that he never gives the time of day, and the Loudest High-Vis Pest In The Village.

you see where this is going.

kakashi who at this point has been coasting along by bouncing between mask-personae for years is now having to dynamically engage with life again because if he isn't present and actively responding to his team then there's a nonzero chance he'll turn around to find all three of them chewing on the drywall and he cannot default to scripted responses because they don't work on a pack of middle schoolers hellbent on squabbling til the cows come home. and it's kind of good for him?

but also, uh. [gestures broadly towards... Sasuke(TM) and the rest of the plot]

and yeah i'm not gonna get too much further into it because i'm not confident enough in my own comprehension of the timeline to do that XD but like.

hatake kakashi is a scarecrow of a man stitched together out of his dead best friend, a hunting hound, and his dead best friend again, who's spent his entire life behind one mask or another, who over the course of the series keeps surviving shit that by all odds he shouldn't have, or survives specifically because the people he cares about throw their plot armor around him before they die, and he has a personality mostly composed of the crumpled-up pages of the memetically worst-written trashy bodice-ripper novels ever published because obito used to love them and the inexplicable receipts of other people's love for him, and i want to put him in a gas station hot dog roller and perceive him.

thank you for coming to my ted talk XD

#answered asks by cwaf #snorlaxlovesme #kakashi hatake #naruto #yeah so like this very much is a thirdhand synthesis Take on it XD but oh my god. holy shit #this series is a masterclass in what is quite possibly the oldest story beat humanity has ever had #which is 'growing up realizing that your adult is fucked up because Their Adult was fucked up because THEIR ADULT was fucked up'#'and responding to it by either becoming them; becoming as different from them as possible; or a secret third thing'#anyway here i am showing up to the weeb-ubiquitous kakashi stan phase 20 years late with starbucks lmao #mr from-accounting you have so many things wrong with you and i love that for me

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rosie-b · 2 months

Text

Centuries Overdue

Chapter 8

Marinette sighed in relief.

There, a little black cat was floating in the air near Adrien, who was still alive and okay! Beside the cat, there was a ladybug of equal size with sparkling blue eyes. As it hovered near the other kwami, it looked over at Marinette and smiled.

“Hello, Marinette! It’s good to see one of my own Mages,” the kwami gushed, flying over to her. “That hasn’t happened in a while. I’m Tikki. Nice to meet you!”

Marinette was lost for words. “Where’s Gimmi?”

Tikki looked confused at first, but then understanding flooded her face. “You met them, didn’t you? I’m so glad you’re all right! What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Marinette swallowed. “It’s a long story.”

“Then it’s all the more important to tell, don’t you think?” Tikki asked. She gazed up at Marinette with innocent blue eyes.

Marinette looked at Adrien, who sighed.

“Tell her the abridged version, Marinette. She and Plagg deserve to know.”

Marinette looked back at Tikki. “It started when I decided to visit the catacombs and Alya told me there were zombies,” she began. She spent the next few minutes quickly recapping what had happened next, and noticed how sad and remorseful Tikki looked when she heard about the Mages and Talents who’d been trapped by Gimmi’s magic.

“I am so sorry you had to go through that, Marinette! Thank you for telling us about it, though. It’s good that we know.”

The other kwami, who must be Plagg, looked horrified. “I wish I didn’t,” he said.

Adrien reached out to cup him in his hands. “I know how you feel. But it will be okay, right?”

Plagg nodded uneasily. “They would have had to be released,” he told Adrien. “All the Talents. They’re all gone now, Adrien.”

“I think they already were,” Adrien said sadly. “I’m glad they can rest now, at least. They had to wait for release too long.”

Plagg nodded, curling up in his Chosen’s palm. “It’s a good thing you’re safe, Adrien.”

“Well,” Marinette said, “I hate to bring it up, but I have a huge question that’s still unanswered. How do we get out of the catacombs? We’re still in a locked-off, uncharted section of them. No one can find us here, which means either we rescue ourselves, we get lucky and some cataphiles find us, or we die. And I’d rather not die!”

“You can use your powers to escape!” Tikki said excitedly. “Create a map of the catacombs, and Plagg and I will help you get out, even if the entrance is blocked.”

Oh, man, things had changed since just a few hours ago. Back then, Marinette had accepted that she just wouldn’t be able to escape, but now, she had gained a— a partner? Magic sort-of soulmate? Friend?

She had Adrien with her now, and her own magic to boot. Plus two helpful kwamis who’d recently been part of one big, scary kwami who’d almost killed her.

“Okay,” Marinette said dubiously. “I guess that could work, even if I’m still new to magic. But what spell do I use, Tikki?”

“Since I’m with you right now, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just say, ‘Tikki, spots on!’ and I’ll give you a map instead of a yo-yo this time.”

“Is that how that works,” Marinette muttered. “Okay, Tikki, spots on!”

Sure enough, a map fell into her hands.

“Better than a teapot, right, Marinette?” Adrien asked.

She snorted. “Very. Okay,” she said, twisting the map around. “It looks like we should go that way!”

“We’ll need some light,” Adrien said. “And you may be powerful, but you’re still new to magic, so you can only do one spell at a time.”

“Let me do it!” Tikki offered. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to help one of my Mages. Without the Talents, it’s been nearly a decade since the last one made it to my castle.”

“Your castle?”

“Mm-hm, in Italy. Adrien’s visited it before; you can ask him to tell you all about it if you want!” Tikki studied the map and darted ahead, creating a series of little lanterns to show the way. The rest of the group followed after her.

“Oh, right! He wrote about it in the third and ninth journals. I remember now,” Marinette said.

Adrien looked amused. “Wait, did you read the rest of my journals, too? Not just the one you found me with?”

“Uh—” Marinette gulped as her face heated up. “Maybe? They were in a library I was working at for my summer job. They were kind of falling apart, but they were intriguing, so I read them anyway. They’re how I found out about magic.”

“Yeah, that would be why Gimmi was targeting my kitten,” Plagg grumbled. “He’s too good at his job. Gimmi didn’t want him to keep writing and risk the Ungifted finding out about magic again, or the Mages figuring out who was behind the Darkness.”

“I didn’t even know about Wishes while I was writing,” Adrien groaned. “Honestly, Gimmi needs to talk to other people before murdering them! And you should talk to other people more often, too, Plagg. And not just about cheese.”

“You spent how many centuries maturing in the catacombs, and you still can’t appreciate my gooey cheeses? Adrien, I’m offended!” Plagg let out a loud, indignant sniff.

Although, Marinette noticed that he didn’t move from Adrien’s shoulder, where he had moved to rest.

“Well, at least you feel comfortable telling me when you feel bad,” Adrien said. “Now, do it more often; tell someone when something is hurting you. Maybe if you and Tikki don’t store up negative emotions, that will help Gimmi be less angry all the time, since you two are what they’re made of.”

“Sure thing, kid,” Plagg said. “I’ll talk your ear off if you want me to.”

“We should probably talk, too, Marinette,” Tikki said, coming back from lighting the rest of the lanterns. Behind them, the ones they’d already passed winked out of existence. “I bet you have a lot of questions for me!”

Marinette smiled, feeling very weary and no small amount overwhelmed. “Maybe once we get out of the catacombs,” she promised. “We still have a long way to go. And hey, it’s pretty cool that we’re here, now that I think about it,” she mused. “No one else has been where we are since probably before you died, Adrien! A positive outlook—and knowing we’re not about to die—makes this trip a lot better.”

He winced. “Yeah. It’s pretty cool,” he repeated cautiously. “However, you’re going to have to teach me everything I missed in the last two centuries, or I fear I’ll never blend in once we’re out of here. I’m still surprised I was able to come back at all.”

“Yeah, thank you for that, Ponytail,” Plagg said.

On realizing who he was speaking to, Marinette reached back for her hair, feeling offended. “Hey! I needed to keep it out of my eyes, that’s all.”

“Plagg, be nice! Besides, milady, I think you look beautiful like this,” Adrien said.

Plagg peeked one eye open to stare at him. “Oh boy, here we go,” he groaned.

Marinette’s face felt like someone had turned into a furnace. “O-oh, hanks, Madrien! I mean, thanks, Adrien! It isn’t my usual style, though.”

“Oh! Well, I’m sure you’re beautiful no matter how you wear it.” Adrien smiled at her, but when she kept staring at him, he coughed and schooled his face. “Okay, I have a joke to share while we’re all still trying to keep distracted. Here it goes— what do libraries and catacombs have in common?”

Marinette blinked. Libraries and catacombs? “I don’t know. What?”

Adrien grinned and leaned closer to her. “They both have a lot of spines! Get it?”

Marinette looked sideways at Adrien, whose smile began to slip.

“Book spines, human spines? No?”

Marinette closed her eyes. “Adrien, I just almost died and you just came back from being dead. How can you joke about bones already? I think if I look at the walls we’re walking past for too long, I’ll throw up.”

Adrien winced. “Sorry! I’m so sorry. I forgot, it’s rude to speak that way in front of—"

“Girls aren’t the issue, Adrien,” Plagg interrupted. “The Un-Gifted moved past that, mostly.”

Adrien relaxed. “Oh. That’s good. I mean, the Mages were always a bit different, but it’s good to know the rest of the world has changed, too.”

“It definitely has,” Marinette agreed. “It was refreshing, to read your journals and know that at least for some women, the 1800s weren’t as bad as they were for most. You know, thinking back to the joke, I think the issue is that you grew up basically surrounded by war and death, but I didn’t. France is mostly at peace in the modern world; democracy is back, and so it was really hard to suddenly be thrust into a battle and confronted with so much death. I’m sure we’ll both need therapy when we get back.”

“Therapy?” Adrien questioned, raising one eyebrow. “You’re sure we can get that? What we went through is pretty specific, you know.”

“Modern therapy, yes. Alya told me the Mages have their own therapists, so you don’t need to worry about revealing magic’s existence in order to get some closure.

“I’ll talk you through the basics later, because we’re getting close to the exit. We need to figure out some other things first, before we get back on the main path and the guards hopefully find us. Like, how do we explain your sudden presence? We can tell Alya and the Mages, of course, but what about the guards and the rest of the world?”

“You should work together with Alya,” Tikki said, excitedly zooming in front of Marinette so she could face her. “I can go see her now and ask her to cast a spell! It will be hard for her to do, but very much worth the effort. With the help of her illusions, Adrien will be ‘recognized’ as another missing visitor to the catacombs, and once you’re both out, you can go to Alya and create a fake ID and whatever else you need to fit in.”

“An ID,” Adrien repeated. He looked adorable when he was confused, Marinette thought.

“It’s basically a card that tells the government who you are. It’s not that bad, I promise!”

Adrien scrunched his eyebrows together. “If you say that it isn’t, milady, then I trust you.”

Tikki smiled. “Great! I’ll go tell Alya, then.” She phased through the catacomb walls and vanished.

“Aww, why can’t we do that?” Marinette asked.

“You could, if you were less mortal and more awesome,” Plagg said with a smirk.

Adrien shot him a glare. “So, I need to pretend to have an ID. What else do I need to know right now?”

Marinette thought for a moment. “Cars! Okay, we’ve made these vehicles that run on gas or electricity and they’re basically mini rooms with seats on wheels, and they move really fast. There are also airplanes, faster ships, and subways and trains. Um, and lightbulbs? Did you have those?”

Adrien shook his head. Marinette sighed.

“They’re like lanterns, but they run on electricity. No big deal.”

“No big deal,” Adrien repeated in disbelief. “Really? It sounds like the Un-Gifted found a way to make their own magic! That’s incredible!”

Marinette blushed. “I guess it is. Um, other things run on electricity, too; a lot, actually. I showed you my phone; basically everybody has one now and they do a lot of cool stuff I’ll need more than ten minutes to explain, haha. There are bigger versions called tablets, and then there are laptops and computers, which are even bigger but still similar to phones, and TVs, which are even bigger and mostly show the weather or recorded, uh, plays and musicals. Oh, when we get to the entrance, there will probably be a ton of cameras, which are these devices that basically flash a light at you and take a picture of you, exactly as you are. Like an instant painting!”

“That sounds terrifying,” Adrien said, grabbing her hand. “I didn’t think things would change that much, even if it’s been a couple centuries! Next you’ll tell me they found a way to go into outer space,” he chuckled.

Marinette looked at him with a smirk growing on her face.

“Oh, you have to be joking,” he breathed.

She giggled. “Nope, I’m not! Aaand we’re at the entrance to the main paths, now. Are you ready?”

Adrien squeezed her hand tight. “If you are, milady.”

“Hey, lover-boy,” Plagg said, still not moving from his spot on Adrien’s shoulders, “If you want to get through that nice metal gate facing you, you’re gonna have to let go of her hand.”

“Oh! Right. Plagg, claws out!” Adrien said, dropping her hand with a bashful smile. “Cataclysm.” He touched the gate and it rusted, falling open and letting them pass through it.

“Is that how you got in, the first time?” Marinette asked. “I know you didn’t wait to go in like a normal person.”

Adrien flushed. “Oh, right, the journals. Um. Yes. Why did I ever write that down?” He muttered the last bit to himself, just barely audible.

“Well, it helped you out in the end,” Marinette said. “If it weren’t for your journals, I never would have been able to rescue you.”

“Which I am so grateful for,” Adrien said assuringly. “Have I said that enough times? I don’t think I have. Should I write you a song to say thank you?”

Marinette blushed and tried to distract herself from the romantic implications of writing songs. He’s from the past, it was different back then! “Ooh, you can write songs, too, not just write?”

“I’m a man of many talents,” Adrien smiled. “You could call it a gift.”

Marinette smacked his arm.

He grinned at her and kept walking forward through the tunnels.

A few meters later, a guard finally spotted them, and they were rushed up to the main building.

Predictably, the press was there waiting, and Alya was right beside them. Once they got some initial footage, she waved a hand, muttering something under her breath, and the reporters busied themselves with her illusions of interviewing the two rescuees. Adrien watched in awe as Alya stepped out to lead them away from the scene.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it all handled. They’ll think you just fell behind, got lost for a while, but turned around and came back without any real issues,” she told them. “Now. Are you both okay? You’re not hurt?”

Marinette nodded. Now that they were finally out, she felt completely exhausted. “I think we’re fine; no injuries here. Alya, that was so scary,” she cried, throwing her arms around her friend in a tight hug.

“I told you it was dangerous,” Alya said sadly. “I am so glad you’re okay. Tikki told me you found your magic, and defeated the zombies? You found Adrien, too, and resurrected him? Like, that’s insane! Girl, you are something else entirely!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“She is quite amazing,” Adrien agreed, wide-eyed. “If that’s what that means.”

Alya’s lips twitched. “Oh, it’s a good thing Tikki told me to start that illusion,” she said, barely restraining a laugh. “Your clothes would have given you away instantly if I hadn’t been there!”

Adrien frowned and pulled at his suit’s collar. “Yes, after seeing those other men, I can see why. What is the modern fashion these days?”

“It’s a lot comfier, for one thing,” Alya said. “I think you’ll like it.”

Relaxing, Adrien smiled at her. “That’s good to hear. By the way, it seems you both know my name, but I don’t think I know yours,” he said, gesturing at her.

Marinette smiled. “This is Alya, my best friend and head Mage of Trixx. She taught me about the modern Mage community and the finer details of how magic works.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Adrien,” Alya said, offering her hand. “Now, let’s get you up to speed!”

Written for @mlbigbang

#only one more chapter left to go!#ao3 links at the top #ml fanfic #ml au #centuries overdue #rosie-b writing #miraculous ladybug #adrinettte #lovesquare #oof I ran out of colors for the title #how did i not see that coming T_T

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as-i-watch · 8 months

Note

To answer your question about the reaction of non-fans regarding the show’s tone, I watched the first 3 episodes with people mostly unfamiliar with OP, and their verdict was that it was fine. These were their impressions:

They didn’t have a problem with something mixing cartoonish action with violence (if anything they thought the biggest issue with the tone was that it wasn’t consistently weird/stylized *enough*) BUT they did have a lot of moments where they’d go “wait why did that happen” during scenes, mainly having to do with the character development. One asked what Nami sewing the straw hat at the end of episode 2 had to do with the rest of the episode because she and Luffy were separated for 3/4 of the runtime and all of Buggy and Luffy’s conversations were about Shanks abandoning Luffy and being an outcast. And all of them were just as confused you were about Zoro’s development.

Another friend similarly thought it was weird that the setup for episode 2 had Nami saying she hated pirates and disliked Luffy, but then the episode itself was more about Zoro and Nami bonding and proving their loyalty to Luffy instead of the other way around.

They hated the flashbacks. Mainly because they felt the editing and segues into those flashbacks made the backstories feel tacked on at best and intrusive at worst - not helped by how they thought the pacing in those flashbacks was clunky and way too fast; even started laughing in disbelief when Usopp’s mom died just because of how it happened in less than a minute.

Got REALLY restless and bored whenever Garp and Koby were on screen.

One friend also thought that the Den Den Mushi were meant to signal that a person was a villain because the expressions on the animatronics read to her as *In Constant Pain* and therefore were meant to be seen as animal cruelty, and because so far only antagonistic forces have used them. She was VERY surprised when I showed her what they look like in the anime/manga and went “wait but those are cute”

All are in agreement that Buggy is the highlight of the entire show so far. “Surprise shithead” and Buggy punching the glass got the biggest laughs of the night.

Do enjoy the action (think the sword fights were the best) and enjoy the sets. They did start to notice a lot of those sets didn’t get a chance to shine because of all the closeups though.

Episode 3 left them kinda cold. Not just because of the flashback, but at the end one friend went “Did this Usopp guy just leave his sickly friend alone in a mansion with 3 murderers just to run *all the way* back to town to ring a bell, even though Luffy and Nami are much closer? What an asshole” So I think on that front the show kinda failed to capture the essentials of Usopp’s character in the abridged timeframe.

One friend also said at the end of the night “This is fun, but it’s not really *about* anything...” He later elaborated that he thought that the episodes we saw were more like a string of Things That Happen, and the character’s actions all seemed to either just exist in a vacuum with no connection to other characters or parts of the plot, or they make choices that don’t make sense unless the characters have read the script.

So yeah, overall my friends unfamiliar with OP said they enjoyed it well enough, certainly had some laughs, but also weren’t in a huge hurry to finish the series. But it’s hard to say if the sentiments they held are common since I haven’t had the chance to talk with many other people talk about it in person. As for me, I’m just kinda letting it digest and waiting to see how I feel about it a few months from now.

Ohh this so interesting!

I share most of that. Specially in ep 2. I absolutely love LA Buggy and it was the best part of the ep but the rest of that ep was so off. It was an exposition episode and i agree the actions of Zoro and Nami were out of the blue, they barely shared any screentime together and suddently they were already so loyal to Luffy just bc. If onlynif was the one thing that actually annoy me, particulary Zoro's development (in ep 3 they madenit right tho) I wasnt sure if it was just me and bc the comparison with the anime or like an actual thing so thank you for that input

The sword fights i love, i really really really do

That read on the den den mushis gave my whiplash but i so get it

Garp and Koby are really interesting to me but bc they are new and i want to see the direction they take, but is mostly curiosity, so that to me is a new way of seeing it too

But mostly your friend is right, im also at ep three and if you strip away all the world building we know from the anime it does feel a bit like a succesion of things happening, but also like a check list of thing that happened in the anime and that must be covered. I get it tho bc run time and all, but its a shame thats the read for a first time watcher that doesnt know about what couldnt be fit in the ep and that helps understand a charecter or a scene better.

#i know it seems i only rant about the show in these asks but actually im really enjoying it #ask #ask: opla

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fictionkinfessions · 26 days

Note

I'm super new to this community in general, so sorry if this is an obvious question, but by personal tags do you mean the emojis people use to identify themselves?

the custom tags page https://fictionkinfessions.tumblr.com/customtags

An abridged and easier to read version of this page can be found here: http://fictionkinfessions.tumblr.com/ct

#1 What is a custom tag?

Custom tags are meant for tracking a series of confessions, or checking if a confession has been posted yet. They are only for anonymous confessions. If you send a non anonymous confession with a custom tag, it will be private replied. Please feel free to resend it.

Custom tags will go in the third tag placement if you wish to track your tag in the search index.

Custom tags will also be used in a person’s Ask Response, provided they do not go against Custom Tags Guideline G1 [See below]

A custom tag can be almost anything, such as:

a word or short sentence [eg #GreenCatMage]

a random jumble of characters and numbers [#EonGame99]

a single or multiple emoji [#⭐★⭐]

a mix of emojis in addition to words [#six⭐s], and so on.

I would suggest something short because the ask box has a character limit.

Here is a few examples:

1) Anonymous asked: When I was a young baby, I went to the city to see a marching band. 🔥🐍🔥

2) Anonymous asked: But it’s just the price I pay. Kintypes are calling me, Open up my eager eyes. ‘Cause I’m Mr Brightsidekin -💚TwinkleStar💚 #custom-tag-1

3) Anonymous asked: Well the world starts kinning and it don’t stop kinning. I made like a AU and hit the ground kinsidering. Hey now, you’re an starkin, get your game on, go play. [#customtag-1 #suggested-tag1 #suggested-tag-2]

The first example has a signature and no custom tag. The second example has a signature and custom tag, which will go into the tag used for the kinfession. The third example has no signature, one custom tag, and two suggested tags which will be used for the kinfession.

#2 How do I use a custom tag?

Please place a custom tag at the start or end of an ask message. A custom tag needs a #hashtag at the start of the custom tag so we know it’s meant to be a tag.

Some words aren’t permitted for custom tags. Before using a custom tag, please check:

if a custom tag is not already taken by someone else

if it’s not a blog url

if it’s a fandom tag - eg character name, ship name, source name, etc

if it’s a slur or derogatory word or variations thereof

if it’s a common search term - blanket, full moon, landscapes, etc

These are not permitted to use in custom tags.

#3 Why was my custom tag rejected?

Most commonly because it was someone’s blog url. Otherwise it could be something from the above list of prohibited words.

If a custom tag is unusable, it will be posted as a Text Post and given the tag #customtag. If you don’t see your confession appear within 3 days, please check the #customtag tag. If you don’t see it in that tag, please send a message with the customtag so we can try tracking it down.

Additionally, please only use only one custom tag per confession. You may use multiple custom tags for your kintypes or source, if your System members want their own custom tags, and so forth.

#4 Can I reserve custom tags?

No, sorry, we don’t allow reserving, hoarding, or earmarking custom tags. If you want to use a custom tag, please check if it’s available, and please go ahead and use it in a confession.

#5 What’s the difference between a signature and a custom tag and a suggested tag?

Both custom tags and signatures consist of a name, emoji, word, or combination thereof that is used to sign off a kinfession. The difference being a hashtag is used at the start of a custom tag to indicate it should be used as a tag. If there is no hashtag, but I won’t know to use it as a tag.

A suggested tag is a tag recommending the use of specific source, name, Content Warning, or other tags.

Such suggested tags aren’t required, but are appreciated if it’s about an obscure source, or specific Content Warnings that may not be apparent.

#6 What if I want to change my custom tag? Can you delete my customtag confessions?

I would suggest simply using a new custom tag. If you want to make sure anyone familiar with your custom tag, send in a few kinfessions with the new and the old tag, then start using only the new tag. Please do let us know if you’re switching a tag.

Sorry, I can’t. There’s no way for me to know if it’s actually you requesting it to be deleted, or someone pretending to be you.

#7 Wait, I forgot to add the hashtag to my custom tag! Can you add a custom tag to this confession?

If you do, or aren’t sure, please send a message in as soon as you can with keywords so we know which is your confession, and what custom tag to add. The follow up message will be added to the confession to indicate why a confession has a custom tag despite the lack of hash tag.

We don’t add custom tags to posted confessions that do not have the hashtag symbol. Both because we don’t have time to track down every confession, and because it people get confused how custom tags work, and why we didn’t put a custom tag on their confession that doesn’t contain a custom tag.

#8 Can you check if I can use this custom tag?

No. Other than checking to ensure it’s not someone’s blog url, we do not check if custom tags are free to use. Please personally check for yourself.

Changelog: page created 8/14/2018 by mod party cat! Updated 9/2/2018 by Mod Party Cat! to add in the amendment to #7 and introducing the use of the generic tag of ’#customtag’. Added #11 on 7/18/2020

Update: rewrote the entire page on 8/28/2020! update 8/31/2020 added the #s 7 and 8 questions

#mod response #mod party cat

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mariacallous · 29 days

Text

Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities have begun integrating ideological and military-themed lessons into school curricula. However, their plans for the upcoming academic year are even more drastic. Children will receive instruction in combat training and learn how to use grenade launchers and automatic weapons, all as part of the required school curriculum. The Russian government has radically revised the list of social sciences, replacing them with militarized or ideological equivalents. Now, instead of economics and law, students will study “traditional values” and the “Russian world.” The independent outlet Holod explained Russia’s new educational model. Meduza shares an abridged version in English.

Russia's educational landscape has experienced significant shifts since the start of the full-scale war. In September 2022, schools across the country rolled out a new class called “Important Conversations,” a state-designed, “patriotic” lesson series meant to bring students’ spiritual and moral values in line with the Russian Federation’s National Security Strategy.

A year later, the Russian authorities supplemented this ideological teaching with military instruction. In addition to things like fire safety and first aid, students began learning “basic military training” in their “Fundamentals of Life Safety” classes. In 10th grade, they learn about the workings of the Kalashnikov assault rifle and “information-psychological warfare.”

Now, the Kremlin is looking to further expand ideological and military teaching in schools. From September 2024, “Fundamentals of Life Safety” will be replaced by something called “Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense.” (While related amendments to federal education law were made in July 2023, the program was only officially registered with the Justice Ministry on February 29, 2024.)

A child today, a soldier tomorrow

“Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense” (FHSD) is approved for students as young as those in fifth grade, but from eighth grade, the course is mandatory. Among other things, eighth and ninth graders will be taught about the tactical and technical characteristics of the Dragunov sniper rifle, the RPG-7 handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, the Kalashnikov assault rifle, and various hand grenades. Students will also study drill training, general military regulations, “the essence and importance of military discipline,” and “the essence of unified command.”

Instructors are tasked with fostering specific “personal results” in students by the program’s conclusion, including “a responsible attitude toward fulfilling one’s constitutional duty of defending the Fatherland” and “an understanding of the significance of the military oath.”

By ninth grade, students are expected to master skills such as putting on equipment and body armor, “assessing the risks of violating military discipline,” and performing drill exercises. Over the two following years, the program goes even deeper. Tenth and 11th graders will learn the basics of combined arms combat, how to set up a combat unit’s position, and how to use more modern firearms such as the MP-443 Grach pistol and the AK-12 assault rifle.

The FHSD program has between 136 and 238 lessons, depending on the grade level at which it’s introduced. Since schools can independently decide how many hours to allocate for each unit (there are still traditional topics such as disaster preparedness and response), this could add dozens of military lessons to those already required in the “basic military training” block. As a result, a significant portion of the school curriculum will focus on military training and preparing future soldiers for combat.

The Russian authorities plan to tap “special military operation” veterans to help teach the new subject, according to First Deputy Education Minister Alexander Bugaev, who said the ex-soldiers will fill an “invaluable niche [in schools by transferring] their personal experience.”

These veterans will be prepared for their new teaching career at the Vertex Center for Military Patriotic Education at Russia’s Federal State University of Education. After just 36 hours of training, a former soldier can get a document certifying them to teach in schools. In addition to retraining war participants as teachers, the center will organize military games for children. Officially, the university’s vice rector, Alexey Ryabtsev, heads the program, but the actual work is likely to fall to his deputy, Pyotr Ishkov, who served as deputy education minister of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” in 2022. However, details about the center itself and its educational programs remain scarce.

Integrated ideology

Russian schools are also set to make big changes to core classes. Russia’s Education Ministry has already drafted a law that would replace social studies in sixth through eighth grade with something called “Our Region’s History.” While social studies will still be taught in high school, many Russians leave school after ninth grade to go to trade schools.

Less than half of the topics covered in “Our Region’s History” will actually touch on local history because the course is meant to incorporate topics from an existing discipline, “Fundamentals of the Spiritual and Moral Culture of the Russian Peoples.”

Course topics include: “The Traditional Family,” “Risks and Threats to the Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia,” “The Russian World,” “Russian Language — the Basis of Russian Culture,” “Spiritual and Moral Values of the Russian People,” “Unity of Values in Russia’s Religions,” “Heroes of the Armed Forces,” and “The Citizen’s Duty to Society.”

Students will still have separate “Important Conversations” classes, but now state ideology will also be integrated into and dispersed across regular subjects.

Previously, ideological subjects could be mostly ignored. While they might influence awards at school, they didn’t have an impact on college admissions. Now that ideology has been added to the core school curriculum, though, related topics will be included on Russia’s college aptitude test, the Unified State Exam (EGE).

Students planning to take the history EGE are now required to know the reasons for “The Revival of the Russian Federation as a World Power,” “The Reunification of Crimea with Russia,” and “The Special Military Operation in Ukraine.” In 2023, only Russia’s annexation of Crimea was included.

In 2024, the list of topics students should know for the EGE in social studies includes things like “The Spiritual Values of Russian Society,” and “The Russian Federation’s State Policy to Counter Extremism.” Neither of these topics was on the exam last year.

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warpedlegacywrites · 6 months

Note

Happy friday, Duchess! For Theresa and Cullen, from the Poe prompts!

The Purloined Letter: blackmail, coercion, cleverness

Happy @dadrunkwriting! Thank you so much for this prompt, you have no idea how happy filling it made me XD

I actually had the idea for this scene a while ago, but wasn't sure when I'd be able to work it into my WIP, and I'm thinking it works much better as a standalone, if only because the tone is so off from the rest of my story. So here it is, all on its own!

The idea is from the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series' "The Dead Zone", which you can find here (seriously give it a watch if you were a DBZ fan, it's funny). Basic premise is thus: bad guys of the week have kidnapped a child, only to realize with horror just whose child they've taken...

“So, let me get this straight.” The Lord of Fortune tapped his foot impatiently, trying to make sense of the scene before him. “I send you out to fetch a foci and you bring back a toddler?”

Said toddler was toddling about the cramped room, hands already smudged and embroidered hem already dirtied by her grubby surroundings, utterly disinterested in whatever the three grown ups behind her were discussing.

“We had to, boss,” the tallest of the two thieves explained, almost pleading. “She saw us take the orb. We couldn’t leave witnesses.”

“And we weren’t about to hurt a kid,” the short one added. “Not for a lousy snatch job.”

“Neither of you thought to wear masks?” The Lord of Fortune raised an incredulous eyebrow. The pair of thieves looked sheepish, but said nothing. Their employer sighed and pinched his nose. “Well, what are we gonna do with her now?”

“I wanna go home,” the child spoke up, as if anyone had asked her.

“Pipe down, brat,” the tall one answered sharply. “Or we’ll toss ya into the bay!”

“You don’t scare me!” True to her word, the tiny wisp faced down the grown up with shoulders squared. “My mama’s gonna beat you up!”

The Lord of Fortune laughed. “Child, we’ve taken down a high dragon.”

“So did my mama!”

He stopped laughing. “...By herself?”

“Uh-huh.”

He suddenly felt very cold. “Oh shit, your mama’s the Inquisitor.” He whirled on his thieves. “You kidnapped the Inquisitor’s kid? How?? How did you kidnap the Inquisitor’s kid?”

The short one looked pale, mumbling in retroactive horror, “Well, first we beat up her husband.”

“Oh my shit.”

Just then, a thunderous explosion erupted from what used to be the front door. The scent of ozone and burnt cinders filled the room, along with a fog so thick the Lord of Fortune nearly choked on it.

All he could see, in the smoldering frame that was left of the doorway, was the silhouette of a dark-haired, one-armed woman, with tendrils of lightning arcing from her right hand. Her eyes glowed pure white with the unleashed power of the Storm and her own wrath.

“Gentlemen,” rang out a voice like smoking embers. “I believe you have something of mine.”

#dadwc prompts #my writing #da fanfic #theresa trevelyan #eleanor trevelyan #poe prompts #kidnapping #mama bear #dbza #dbza dead zone #lol this is an interesting crossover of tags

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jacquelinemerritt · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Z: Episode of Bardock Abridged Review

Originally posted December 14th, 2015

I’m not sure what’s going on, and I’m okay with that.

The scenario for “Episode of Bardock” set up by the source material is a very strange one. After being hit with Freeza’s planet destroying energy ball, Bardock is somehow sent back in time four thousand years, and he finds himself meeting the previous evolution of the Saiyan race and encountering Lord Chilled, the ancestor of Freeza.

He also apparently gains the power to go Super Saiyan, starting the legends that inevitably spread throughout the galaxy when he uses this power to defeat Chilled, which would seem to break every rule about time paradoxes that we know to exist.1 That scenario creates a problem very different from the problem of Revenge of Cooler; Team Four Star has to figure out a way to get us to suspend our disbelief despite the ridiculousness of this story.

Their solution is a damn clever one. To make this story palatable, they turn its ridiculousness up to eleven and add a layer of meta-commentary to the story itself. Right before Bardock gets transported to the past, the narrator claims that this should be Bardock’s end if it weren’t for the need to merchandise him, and then for good measure, the chorus to “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror plays. The purple Saiyans all sound like the exact same impression of Kermit the Frog, and their names are all misspelled derivatives of 90s rappers, with town doctor being named Dr. Dray and his son being named Twopock.

Lord Chilled, Freeza’s ancestor, is even more eccentric and demanding than his future progeny, and he has the most ridiculous British accent and high pitched voice of any character in the series. When Bardock realizes what is going on, it is the ridiculousness of this scenario that causes him to transform into a Super Saiyan and gain the power to defeat Chilled in time to Beethoveen’s Ode to Joy.

And finally, we cut to Goku telling Gohan this tale about his grandfather, who immediately questions the logical flaws in the scenario only to discover that hearing this story had actually all been a dream. Whether or not any of this actually happened to Bardock is left completely unresolved, and we the audience are left more confused than the story’s scenario ever could have made us on its own.

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1Unless time travel in the Dragonball Z: Abridged universe works like time travel in Lost, but as we find out in future episodes, it doesn’t.

This episode also serves as a much more effective introduction to Bardock’s character than “Father of Goku” did. His first reaction to meeting the purple Saiyans is to enter into an unfathomable rage, he critiques the people terrorizing the purple Saiyans for doing so ineffectively, and he casts shame upon the purple Saiyans for attempting to praise him. He’s also nicknamed “Violent Savior,” and if that doesn’t tell you a lot about him, I don’t know what will.

Narrator: “So ends the tragic fate of Bardock. Or so you’d think, if you didn’t know a thing about merchandising!”

Bardock’s “spiker” train of thought is very similar to a lot of the things we see Goku thinking.

Chilled: “In honor of their deaths, my men shall now and forevermore be given the names of fruits! Pineapple, bring us to planet Plant.” Yellow Alien: “So am I Pineapple?” Chilled: “Yes!”

Henchman: “Hello. We are the Space Police.” Aice Cube: “Man, fuck the police!”

Space Police: “We are here to collect space criminals and other ne’er-do-wells.” Dr. Dray: “I can assure you we have already exiled Chris of the clan Brown from our planet.”

So, if the purple Saiyans get pregnant by being hurt, does that mean I have to kinkshame an entire race?

Chilled: “Because of Raisins! Raisins is my intelligence officer.”

Chilled: “These people seem to have great respect for you. What is your secret?” Bardock: “Maybe it’s because I don’t look like a giant purple and orange tampon.”

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #tfs #dbza #film criticism #dbza bardock 2

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new-components · 3 months

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su review

so I read the first entry in su, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Toki Pona Edition by Sonja Lang. i have many positive thoughts about it

my perspective of the book is coming from someone who would consider itself roughly a beginner-intermediate toki pona-knower, and someone who had very little knowledge of the original story going in.

the book is very clearly an abridged version of the story (and paraphrasing jan Sonja, super-fans of the original Oz might be a bit disappointed at cut ideas), but it didn't feel like a dry synopsis. i found it easy and enjoyable to get into the story, and this was helped a lot by the wonderful illustrations by Evan Dahm! the book is also fully bilingual in toki pona written in sitelen pona, and a literal translation of that back into English (partially to help beginners, partially because of publication restrictions). i found myself occasionally using the english back-translations to make sure i was on the right track understanding things, especially as it was the longest toki pona text i had read up to this point. perfect for me- but absolute beginners will likely struggle.

it's worth noting that jan Sonja has stated that "su" refers to a series of books that jan Sonja plans on writing- with the wizard of oz being the first entry in that series. i look forward to finding out what the next entries she writes are!

kon toki:

I found the writing style fun to read. very deliberately matter of fact/terse as a lot of toki pona writing is in my experience- but it didn't shy away from clever wordplay, evocative descriptions, and emotional writing. "waso laso kin li pana e sike mama laso" made me smile and tense moments had a degree of grave weight and the writing reflected that. a simple "pakala" can be devastating. jan Sonja is a clever writer, and is very proficient with the language, and it shines through in the book.

as for how well it represents the original story- i can't say as i'm not very familiar with it! everything I knew about Oz was in there but that was mostly "there is a metal guy and Dorothy and Kansas and a green city". the illustrations by Evan Dahm really brought the book to life and helped me have confidence that I was understanding the words, giving context to them.

nasin sitelen:

the formatting of the sitelen pona text was a delight to read and i think is a model that should be considered by all tokiponists writing in sitelen pona. there are no special punctuation symbols and sentences are broken by line breaks. when a subject has multiple li predicates, the li phrases are often indented to be in line with each other to break up the text and make it clear they're applying to the same subject. there is no use of compound glyphs making it easy to understand. name cartouches are written with one glyph per letter (which is to say, sitelen kalama is not used), which makes names long but also means there was ample opportunity to make the symbols fit each character, group, and place. Dorothy's (jan Towasi) cartouche for example is "tomo olin wile alasa suwi ijo", which i feel fits her character and narrative very well! names are abbreviated to the first letter after their first use in a chapter.

as for uncommon words/glyphs, there are a few! majuna, lanpan, namako, and one other i can think of but don't want to spoil make appearances. the glyph for majuna was one i was unfamiliar with but i do like it! also, a quad-luka variant of mute for use in the information page for writing "2024" using nasin nanpa pona. one neat nasin was using two glyphs for sewi: a secular variant that is similar to the other positional words for where it is meaning "up" or "above", and the pu variant for a mention of a divine/holy thing.

beginners may find these rarer words and alternate glyphs slightly challenging- but i think the back-translation will help a lot in identifying any unfamiliar words. jan Sonja is also making/made a sitelen pona lookup page which, while i've seen similar materials already, is notable in the context of su because it uses all the same glyphs as su (or at least in Oz.) i half-expected something like this to exist as an appendix in the book proper, but i didn't miss it too much, most books don't have a dictionary in the back after all!

pini:

all in all i highly recommend the book to toki pona learners who are past the absolute beginner level and are looking for an actual Thing to read. absolute beginners will likely struggle to understand it as it is not a reference of the language itself, unlike pu or ku, especially if they took the approach of learning the language as written in sitelen Lasina first and learning sitelen pona later.

still, out of the three jan Sonja books i think it is probably the most valuable to learning. there are many guides to toki pona vocabulary and grammar out there, some of which i would argue are probably more up-to-date and comprehensive than pu (that's not to say that pu isn't useful, but it isn't essential to learning the language in a way that maybe it once was) and ku, while a good reference for the semantic space of words and figuring out translation, does not have any full examples of written toki pona and so its use learning practical toki pona as it is written and spoken is somewhat limited.

su, so far, is a great jumping point after learning the basics of toki pona and getting to read actual story written in it and learning through that. full stories written in toki pona, while not unheard of, are pretty scarce, doubly so stories by proficient storytellers, translators, and toki pona speakers, and so su is a very welcome addition to the bibliography. i am excited to see what jan Sonja makes next!

i give the wizard of oz: toki pona edition a "pona a!"

#toki pona #su #the wizard of oz

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