#( i think about this concept just a little bit. )

[signanothername]

How do you see Nm's and Ccino's relationship? Is it different from canon?

Ngl didn’t expect people to be this interested dhdhhdhdh

Kay so, ngl, i’m still kinda refining how I interpret Ccino and his Au as a whole, so what imma say is just a few paragraphs of the gist of how i think of it so far dhxghxhxh

Nightmare found out about fluffytale and by extension Ccino through doing research of different AUs, as Nightmare has a tendency to study AUs to understand how they work and how he can apply it in his own plans/take advantage of them

The reason Fluffytale even caught Nightmare’s attention at all, was for 2 reasons:

1- the Au no longer has any Alternative timelines as there only seems to be one single timeline left, meaning, it’s the one singular unique Au, single main Au with no copies that illustrate different events, and the code of the Au seems completely corrupted, meaning the very concept of new timelines being created is impossible

Nightmare isn’t completely sure why every other timeline seems to have been erased out of existence and why the code is corrupted, but he guesses it’s Error’s work

2- the Au has a cafe which is open to host whoever in the multiverse, regardless of who they are, whether infamous for violence or known for their kindness, whether they are a person who’s part of another Au, or an outcode, it welcomes everyone, including his twin, and by extension himself

Not only did Nightmare see potential in having another set of eyes on the outside world and a great source of info, but even as a source of negativity considering the misery in that universe in general

Nightmare eventually visits the Au himself and watches the cafe from afar for a few weeks before actually visiting the cafe himself

Obviously, with the intent to make a “deal” with the owner of the cafe (Ccino)

Ccino is completely unaware of the state of his Au, thinking that other timelines do exist, and by extension, having a bit of courage to refuse Nightmare’s “offer” at first

Nightmare being the bitch who never takes “no” for an answer, threatens Ccino that he will destroy his Au, and kill his family, and let him watch it happen, which again, Ccino is fine with (lie) as long as he knows there are other timelines in which they live peacefully (he’s not actually fine with it, he’s terrified of Nightmare and his threats, but the idea of other timelines existing gives Ccino a little bit of hope that even if he dies, another version of himself and his brother are out there happy and safe)

And that’s when Nightmare tells him about the state of his Au, and even proving that there’s only this one timeline, and that crushes any sort of hope and confidence in Ccino, and well, Nightmare takes that as a chance to manipulate Ccino into a deal

The deal Nightmare’s trying to entrap Ccino into is for Ccino to be an outside source of info on the multiverse and what happens within it, considering his cafe is open to anyone out there, and an active info source at that, so if Dream were to visit the cafe, Ccino is to report that to him immediately, if anything happens within the cafe that could be good info that might benefit Nightmare, Ccino is to report that to him, if Nightmare were to visit himself, he expects a full report of what’s been happening out there when Nightmare’s been busy with his own nuisances, however Ccino isn’t allowed to provide info about Nightmare or his gang to anyone else

Ccino however, wouldn’t just accept Nightmare’s deal without his own terms, so he tells Nightmare that if he were to provide info, Nightmare’s forbidden from harming his Au or anyone in it (including people who visit his universe from other universes, no matter who it is, even if it’s Dream) which Nightmare (reluctantly) agrees to, and so the deal is made

So now, Ccino acts like an outsource spy to Nightmare without anyone’s knowledge, so an innocent Dream who thinks he can tell Ccino whatever thinking Ccino’s a good confidant would have the shock of his life if he ever found out anything Ccino was told went to Nightmare

Ccino obviously, finds no joy in this, and he even tries to keep somethings from Nightmare, it’s just hard to do that when your soul starts beating fast and fear grips his nonexistent throat and Nightmare catches his fear and starts questioning him :)

Ccino carries a lot of guilt for it, but just like any victim under Nightmare, Ccino is forced to do shit he isn’t proud of or want to do, it eats away at him and is just making his mental health worse than it already is

Ccino hears from Dream about how much Nightmare means to him, and so, since his job is to “provide info” he also relays those sweet conversations to Nightmare, hoping it might stirr something inside his cold soul, Nightmare barely twitches at such comments tho (further crushing whatever false hope he may have)

I plan for Presso (Fluffytale Paps) to also have a big role in the story and how it all connects to Nightmare, but I’m still working on that part so uhh nothing to say about that for now zhxhhdhdhhs, all I know is that I want Persso to also fall into making a deal with Nightmare shshhs

Ngl been working on a comic with Nightmare’s and Ccino’s “deal” but i’m far from done dbbdbxbx here’s a lil snippet tho

[that-house]

December 3rd, 2031 – Sixty degrees, clear skies, and a nice southeasterly breeze. It was a beautiful day to lay siege to Dallas. It was a good thing the weather was nice, because everything else about the operation looked rough. Marian couldn’t wait.

Dallas was a classic Texan fortress-city, two rings of forty foot tall concrete walls with a killing field in between, bristling with anti-aircraft cannon. The ground-facing defenses were a little less thorough, but a few machine guns would make quick work of any infantry charge and Dallas had more than a few machine guns.

“We aren’t being paid enough,” Suzy griped. She was crouching in the shade, alternatingly blowing a bubble of gum and taking swigs out of a bottle whose contents were hidden by a paper bag.

“We’re mercenaries. Get used to it.” Marian hoisted her gun onto her shoulder. “Besides, they don’t exactly expect us to succeed.”

“Oh, are we leading a suicide charge? I wasn’t paying attention to the Duke.” Suzy was never paying attention, but the benefits of having her around outweighed the drawbacks. Most days, at least.

“Pretty much.”

“Did the guys we’re with know this was a suicide charge?”

Marion looked around at the Jeep the Duke of Austin had hastily assigned the duo to. The soldiers suddenly all looked a bit green around the gills. “I’m guessing not. Chin up, boys! Auntie Marian won’t let any harm come to you.”

One of the men, a lieutenant, managed to find his voice. “Why are we here?”

“The Duke hopes that we’ll die loud enough that Dallas won’t notice his bombers taking out the emplaced guns. Doesn’t strike me as very sound tactics, but hey, he’s got manpower to make up for what he lacks in brains.”

Silence in the back of the Jeep.

Marian continued, mostly to fuck with them. “And don’t think the tanks’ll be any help. See those big fancy guns up on the wall? Those are lonestar guns. You boys seen lonestar guns?”

“Yeah.”

“So you get the idea. But hey, cheer up! It’s not every day you get to storm the best-defended city in the state!”

The man slowly came to a revelation a long time coming. “You’re insane,” he said.

“Insane was my father’s name. Please, call me Marian Typhoon.”

Suzy cackled. “That was terrible.”

The soldiers looked between the two women, now realizing they were both mad. “How are you two so calm?”

Marian didn’t answer for a moment, looking out at the slowly-approaching walls of Dallas. The lonestar guns’ targeting algorithms would start flagging the vehicles soon. “Suzy, how far out are we?”

“About a mile and a half.” Suzy busied herself checking over her rifle.

“Now, boys, I’m gonna explain two concepts very quickly, so you’d best pay attention. The KL-90 fully automatic sniper rifle, sometimes called “Le Papillon,” was something of a failure, because for some reason those glorious Frenchmen decided to make it fire 1200 rounds per minute, giving it a tendency to dump the entire mag into one poor fucker. Only six were ever made, and nowadays they’re just museum pieces. In 2026, the American military plunged into the deep end of bioweaponry and concocted a little something known as the ‘vampire virus,’ which proved pretty damn lethal in 99.99% of cases. The 0.01% that survived were problematic enough that the program shut down, and all information about it was expunged from the record.”

Marion patted Suzy affectionately on the head. “Now you might be wondering how those two disparate pieces of information might happen to overlap, and if you boys just sit pretty for a moment I reckon you’ll be able to connect the dots. Suzy?”

The last surviving vampire, Suzy Nines, slotted the magazine into her KL-90 fully automatic sniper rifle, and squinted out at the Dallas walls. She squeezed the trigger, the barrel swinging into a wild blur of motion as the sound of gunfire filled the air. “Machine gunners down. Reloading.”

Marian patted the hapless lieutenant on the shoulder. “Come along, boys. Auntie Marian’s got a city to take.”

[secretlyobito]

Underneath

Description: Satoru doesn't want you to see him without his blindfold.

Fluff, angst(teeny tiny), Satoru eating icecream :D, lots and lots of feelings

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Seconds turned to minutes and minutes to an hour. You sat beside Satoru on the dusty park bench, occasionally stealing glances at his blindfolded face. Satoru on the other hand ate his ice-cream happily albeit almost obliviously, if he noticed you taking little peeks at him then he definitely didn’t point it out as he continued to eat his snack, his blindfolded eyes taking in the scene of little children running around and playing.

You glanced away again as your fingers mindlessly prodded and poked at the chipping paint of the park bench beneath you. Why didn’t he want you to see what was underneath the damn blindfold? Admittedly, your relationship was a bit new, you and Satoru have only been dating for a little under a year. Still, within that time, moments had been shared, I love yous exchanged, memories made and your bond made stronger. Despite how you felt, you didn’t want to push Satoru. It was a surprise he was even dating at all, having stated himself multiple times that he did not see himself being in a relationship, you were quite grateful.

Recalling how Satoru felt about relationships gave way to the ugly feelings of insecurity you had been suppressing. You glanced at him worriedly one more time before the cruel thoughts began to flood your head, ‘where exactly is this relationship going?’ ‘does he even care about me as much as I care about him?’ ‘did he really want a relationship? Did I pressure him into this?’ ‘what if he-’

“11” “huh?” you asked stupidly as you were snapped out of your thoughts. “11, this is the eleventh time you’ve looked at me thinking I can’t see you~” he chuckles, the ice-cream in his hand all gone as he prepares to devour another one. “Am I not allowed to look at you?” “you can but I don’t approve of the motive behind it” he hums, his nimble fingers unwrapping the frozen treat causing a few kids to glance at his hands longingly. He unwraps the treat and hold it out in front of you “no thanks” you refuse politely, pushing his hand back toward him. “I know what you were thinking, I can smell the self-depreciating thoughts” You scoff as you glance away from him “what are you a mind reader?” “maybe” he chuckles leaning closer to you from his spot on the bench. Satoru never really understood the concept of personal space, he was always up in everyone’s face, Yuji, Megumi, you, you name it. You laugh at his usual intrusion of your personal bubble as your palms come up to push his face away, faltering when the textured fabric of his blindfold comes under your fingers. “ah so that’s what this is about” he hums again sitting back in his seat, you found it a bit annoying when he did that, read you like an open book. Most people mischaracterized Satoru as goofy and aloof, he was anything but aloof. He was one of the most observant and intuitive people you knew, he was anything but aloof.

You fiddled your fingers nervously as your heart raced, you had brought it up before the topic of wanting to see what he looked like underneath the blindfold, but he skillfully brushed you off, leaving the air awkward and tense after. You were afraid of creating that atmosphere again, you didn’t want to give Satoru, whom you felt like you had hit the jackpot getting him to be your boyfriend, a reason to leave you. You sighed as you ran your hand through your hair, you always felt like you were walking on eggshells around him. “tell me what’s on your mind, not that I don’t already know” “………It’s fine Toru, I was just thinking” you face forward again, subconsciously scooting away from him. Satoru frowns at this, he hated making you upset. He always knew he was a jerk but he truly felt it when he made you upset, he sighs as he tosses the wrapper of his ice-cream in the trash, getting up and holding his hand out for you “shall we? My sweet?” he says in his usual playful voice but you can sense the tension behind it a you grab his hand and get up.

The air is tense and awkward as you both walk home, exactly what you feared. He swings your joint hands as you walk down the street, “you know, I cover my eyes for a reason…” you cringe internally at the statement, feeling guilty he has to keep explaining himself to you “I know Toru and I completely understand, I’m sorry if it feels like I’m bothering you about it” his hearty chuckle rings out as he swings your joint hands harder “you could never bother me…..Ijichi maybe but not you”.

“Sweets, do you know the feeling of being exposed? Not just physically but emotionally too. When I first started covering my eyes, it gave me relief not just from the pain of the six eyes but from being……me. It gave me a shield, a cover, a moniker, kind of like Clark Kent when he wears the glasses” he chuckles. “my students call me the blindfolded idiot when I wear it and I love it, can act as silly as I want with them…. with you but the truth is, that isn’t me. Wearing the blindfold is nice because it helps me escape this cursed reality, helps me escape the reality of what I am. Y/N I’m nothing more than a symbol of power but I don’t want to be that for you, I didn’t want you to see me that way, I just wanted to be more than that for you and all I managed to do was to make you feel like I didn’t wanna open up to you” he sighs, now it was his turn to steal a glance at you. His jaw nearly drops as he sees the tears running down your cheeks as you sniffle. “Shit don’t cry, was my speech that sappy?” he winces as he wipes the tears away from your eyes. “Toru…I” you tried to find the right words to respond but you couldn’t, you had never even seen Satoru be half this serious or open, you had no idea how to respond. He smiles as he watches you fumble for words “you don’t have to say anything” he mumbles before swooping down to place a chaste kiss on your lips, his ears turning red as he does so, who knew underneath his bold, audacious moniker, Satoru was shy when it came to intimate affection? He quickly recovers as that stupid grin washes over his face again, his fingers moving behind his head to untie his blindfold “but I don’t blame you sweets, not a lot of ladies can resist this” he announces proudly, getting ready to reveal his face to you but your fingers abruptly stop his.

“its ok Satoru” you smile at him, watching his cocky grin drop from his face as you take his hand in yours again, resuming your walk home. He smiles in silent appreciation as you two walk home, tugging you closer. “and just so you know Satoru, I love you, every version of you”.

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Little Gojo fic for the soul since he got screwed over by gege in the last chapter. If you liked, please reblog! Enjoy♡

[logan-lieutenant]

goodbye to a world

reading between the lines of the various goodbyes and dismissals to logan sargeant

Pt. 3: Oscar (press conference)

full series

not a goodbye (in the traditional sense of the word) but a fucking statement. obviously. because piastri.

the loscar dynamic is absolutely FASCINATING. out of all the friendships in the grid, this one plays a special role: it reminds the audience that there’s so much more than formula 1, there’s so much more to f1 drivers than this stage of their career. most of us (spectators) have a broad conception of the “typical” driver backstory; rich kid with rich parents, got in a go kart at age 4, karting and then single-seater and junior series was their whole life and they climbed up the ranks like rungs on a ladder. i think a lot of people who only watch f1 (myself included) tend to focus so much more on the Pinnacle of MotorsportTM that everything else just seems like prep. even though most if not all of the drivers grew up either 1) racing each other 2) watching each other on tv, we don’t really think of these relationships beyond and BEFORE f1.

until loscar. because what draws them together? they’re not teammates. they’re not rivals. williams is so far behind that they’re not even competitors. in many way, logan is entirely “out of oscar’s league”.

and yet they have this endearing, sweet, playful friendship that’s exactly what it seems like: people who have known each other since they were kids, grown up together, watched each other become the person they are today. there’s a casual, domestic intimacy neither of them have with their teammates, even if those relationships are also going well, because there’s this history element.

which is recalled no more vividly than when oscar and logan are compared. as they are too often.

total polar opposites. f1 stories practically the inverse of each other. one was a promising young talent who f1 teams had been keeping an eye on for years that, once thrown in the car at that “wait! isn’t he just a kid??” age, immediately proved his worth as a future superstar. Future World Champion, to quote the official moniker. “look at him go! look at OSCAR PIASTRI!” he’s a prodigy, he’s a social enigma, he’s a raw force of pure and driven talent.

then you have the other promising young talent who one f1 team had been keeping a loose eye on for years. who’s never done any free practices or tests. who’s barely even dipped his toe into the waters of f2. who’s shown a lot of raw potential but more noticeably, glittering fancy sponsors. who gets chucked into a car as a last-minute, scrapping underprepared and thrown-together plan B after the previous f2 graduate fails to keep his seat. and, while oscar soared off into the stratosphere, logan flops IMMEDIATELY.

go fucking figure. it’s almost like people like max verstappen and lewis hamilton are exceptions to the rule, not the rule itself, and an underprepared rushed overwhelmed rookie is actually NOT in a position to achieve immediate stardom! in fact, maybe that’s the OPPOSITE of what they need! so, in loscar, we have the exception to the rule (oscar) and the rule (logan). but that’s not the solidified narrative; the story, how history will remember the two of them, is that logan was nothing but a pale and washed-out shadow. always. open and shut case.

what does oscar have to say about it, though?

this was said to gp blog (great website); the full quotes from him are:

I sent him a text yesterday. He seemed okay. Obviously a little bit of a shock. Obviously it wasn't an easy time for him in F1. It was much more difficult for him than maybe I expected it to be going into F1. I think for me, his potential was much greater than what was on show in F1, for whatever reason it might be.

I know firsthand, being his teammate in the junior categories, racing him in basically everything, I know how quick he is. I don't think the change was completely unexpected...

Best of luck to him. Just a shame that, for whatever reason, he wasn't able to show everything that he's got. Because in the junior categories, he was genuinely one of the quickest guys I went up against. I think his potential is much greater than what some people have seen.

first of all, some BEAUTIFUL toeing-the-line from oscar here. he’s even more subtle than alex in that none of his words imply any sort of passive aggression or ill intent; the only emotion that’s really conveyed, in understated tones, is a mild perplexity about logan’s career and failure in general as opposed to its gut-wrenching end in question. the implications in his wording imply nothing more than a personal opinion, but the ambiguity itself is some massive shade. let’s take a closer look:

much more difficult for him than maybe i expected it to be- this is masterful. “yeah, that’s right. i’m the next-gen prodigal superstar talent with my future as a world champion pretty much written for me, and i’ve shown the skill to back it up, and not only did i know logan before the catastrophe of f1 but i regarded him with so much respect that i had actual expectations. his skill had become such an intertwined part of his character in my eyes that i just assumed things would go so much better. because i believed in him.”

his potential was much greater than what was on show in f1…- toeing the line again. balance. acknowledging both the reality and all the roads not taken. “i’m not making false claims. i’m not making excuses for him. i’m not blaming the car or the team or the lack of support or the disgrace or the mistreatment and i’m not challenging the results. i’m not talking about what happened, i’m talking about what could’ve happened. potential. i’m talking about everything that wasn’t on show– and by not on show i mean that his potential, his skill, his pace, him as a person was not seen or understood or respected or prioritized by anyone. i’m not saying ‘oh, one point in 36 starts is all anyone could do with x/y/z excuse’ i’m saying ‘you guys missed the point’.”

for whatever reason that might be/just a shame that, for whatever reason- fucking hell, this is harsh. this is practically an attack. “i’m not gonna make excuses, but i’m gonna leave this open. i’m not gonna call this bad luck or the way it goes sometimes or a bad break, i’m saying that Whatever Reason This Happened is not what should have happened. not a matter of chance or objective misfortune; this situation could have and should have worked out better and whatever obstacle got in the way of that was a matter of misjudgment.”

I know firsthand, being his teammate in the junior categories, racing him in basically everything, I know how quick he is- alex said something similar, about pace. “raw speed” he calls it. and it’s really interesting that his teammates, who learn firsthand about him as a racer, his driving style, his strengths, his weaknesses (whether they’ve been teammates for months or years) identify a specific trait/skill about logan rather than just making the empty claim that “he’s good” or “he’s better than this”. and this is very interesting coming from oscar in particular given his current teammate. lando isn’t the best starter or the best defender or the most coordinated overtaker, but even with all the areas he needs to work on he can still compensate for it by being really fucking fast. his pace is his defense; he gets clean air and boom, he’s fucking gone. obviously that’s an oversimplification but oscar directly competing against that and observing/absorbing that and bringing up the same category of skill in logan– even in flashback– can’t be overlooked. in addition: “yeah, i’ve raced against him in basically everything. you’ve watched him on tv in a backmarker team for a season or so? i’ve known him for YEARS. i know. i don’t care what you’re seeing, i’m the expert on this and i know.”

I think his potential is much greater than what some people have seen- shit, this is as close to passive aggression as he gets, but it’s still done so precisely and subtly that it’s almost an art form. i mean, leave it to oscar piastri to use the phrase “some people” and NOT make it sound like a straight up, poorly-veiled callout. try to use that in a sentence without seeming like you’re shit-talking someone, potentially in the room. this is part of the lovely passive-aggression classic: “….unlike SOME people” (sometimes while staring at them directly, depending on how passive you want the passive aggression to really be. so, he’s (in unofficial terms) calling out who– anyone who hasn’t seen logan’s potential. who have underestimated him. who have invalidated his situation and him as an athlete. this could be any category of haters– negative fans, petty journalists, the horrid type of reports who will ask questions like “what does it feel like to be the slowest driver in formula 1…”. and that would make perfect sense. almost perfect. if we thought oscar piastri paid any attention to the haters, his own or anyone else’s. if it was ever on his mind. so, people who haven’t seen his potential… what, like, team principals? the ambiguity in itself is simultaneously a direct implication and oscar piastri’s intelligence needs to be studied because it is sometimes terrifying.

oscar doesn’t make a statement on social media, doesn’t bring it up further, doesn’t make any sort of personal goodbye available to the media– of course he wouldn’t, not just because that’s incredibly private but also because he’s oscar and he’s basically kimi raikkonen (in this analogy lando is sunshine boy seb but that’s an idea for another post). oscar’s whole public image is that he doesn’t want to have a public image. he doesn’t give the media any more parts of himself than he’s contractually obligated to. what he does give is concise, serious, the strongest points in the fewest words. and because of the enigmatic, tantalizing nature of that approach paired with the fact that he’s a fucking brilliant driver, people listen to what he has to say.

so oscar has a lot more weight to throw around than alex. alex’s image is that he’s a cuddly sunshiney cat dad who is a living anomaly in that he’s a good driver and a total sweetheart at once. whether or not what he says comes from the heart (it does. he’s alex) the reaction can always be “awww look at alex he’s such a nice guy :)” and the focus is on the kindness of the gesture/praise/respect itself rather than what alex is actually saying. so if alex says logan had more potential, that’s alex being alex.

if oscar says logan had more potential, that’s a fucking statement. and if the media wasn’t coming for JV’s head at this point, oscar just gave them a diagram for how to build a guillotine.

beautiful.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

"Marika becomes the sum of all the Fromsoft girlies" is nice but you forgot Nashandra who actually has parallels with Marika! Recommending to check it out, she's cool!

let’s get this out of the way now… I love DS2, I think the vibe and gameplay is immaculate and I’ll defend it as a whimsical and enjoyable videogame experience till the end of time.

But my god, I hate how they handle female characters in that one 💀

In fact, I don’t like how they handle female characters in DS franchise in general. It got a bit better in Bloodborne and Sekiro and especially AC6, but overall ever since I started playing Fromsoft game in 2020, my main gripe with them is they only have 2 tropes to shoehorn their female character into: helpless victim of a system that would mangle and exploit them OR serious sword lady. And if I’m being real, it’s the main gripe I have with Elden Ring base game too?

I didn’t discuss it on tumblr because back then I were still trying to keep this blog art-focused, but when the game came out in 2022, I did express my concern on twitter that I found the female characters cast… strangely lacking. Because I went into the game expecting Ema-level of writing (literally Sekiro’s Ema is one of the best female characters Fromsoft has ever written to this day I could and have talked ppl’s ears off about her. And I’m glad she on her own is very different from Marika. That means they could at least write 2 more types of female characters now the bar is on the floor but I’ll take it and cherish what I have), but it felt like they got reset back to DS franchise with ER base game.

(This has an added layer of me being a girl born, raised and lived in a Sinosphere country that is entrenched in Confucius values just like Japan, so yes I do understand and experience firsthand the underlying culture values that shapes their writing. Hell, I live and study postgraduate in Japan for 2 years too).

But we are going off track, this is about DS2. Now, my problem with DS2 is, see, with 1 or 3, the female characters either have very little agency or no agency at all. And it just…. be like that. The male characters are somewhat the same, so it really doesn’t bother me that much. The cool, unique, not sexualized design is enough. But 2?

2 has a lot of female characters…. who either play no role in the world setting or sinister figures that charm men and bring ruins to kingdoms? What?

(Before anyone says “but Lucatiel—” Lucatiel is the beacon of light in that game, yes, but at the same time her purpose centering around her brother is… also a problem I have with the way they handle Malenia’s story. My Fromsoft experience has lore to it as well jfc)

Like, it’s just ??? to me half of those women have no agency or backstory whatsoever apart from being the Dark’s daughters that would bring doom everywhere they go??? You can say everything wrong in DS2 world is their fault and I actually wouldn’t have much to argue. Actually, it’s interesting you bring up Nashandra because I do think Nashandra has parallel in Elden Ring. But not to Marika.

Nanaya.

That’s who reminds me of Nashandra in Elden Ring. Literally the mysterious, lowkey nefarious lady and her old man husband with questionable dynamic DS2 trope 🧍‍♀️ you can actually see that in their name too.

If I have to pick a character in DS franchise specifically to make parallel to Marika, it’ll always be Gwynevere. Because I honestly think it’s amazing they took a character that has the least amount of agency they’ve ever created, and turned the core concept of her (warmth, healing spells, sunlight, mother, daughter, queen, faith) into another character with actual good writing.

That’s why I didn’t include Nashandra in my previous post. Not because I don’t know about her. It’s because I know.

[creative-clawmarks]

TW for SH‼️

I think I remember when you said something about Alex feeling guilty at first —or most of the time— when he ate his victims, that little human part of him who appreciated and loved his meals, whilst he still convinced himself —or rather, his already putrid self convinced him— that it's something he must do.

I really love this concept of when a creature is aware of their power, that they're hurting people whether it's with or without purpose, they try to take it upon themselves, to punish themselves for not being strong enough to fight back those animalistic urges.

So my heart clenches with the whole idea of Alex's body filled with bite marks, scratches and sloppily healed wounds he self-inflicted on himself as a punishment for wanting, for even thinking, on eating his lovers and friends.

... I just love when lil beasts are angsty like that, I'm sorry if I rambled lol

(Also I wrote this without recalling if you already said something similar, so more apologies!)

This is such an evocative image. And to make it even worse, vampires heal really quickly, so even if he harmed himself for some kind of catharsis the wounds wouldn't even leave a scar. No evidence of his suffering and no way for anyone to recognize he needs help, just another bit of damage done without any purpose.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Part 2 response to this ask / [this post]:

For recent books, I think that it's less of a consideration of the audience and more a reflection of the general state of the publishing world currently. Disney as a company (which owns the publishing house through which Rick's works are published) is also in a weird spot right now and that is probably also lending itself heavily to why recent franchise stuff is the way it is:

A.) The franchise is basically guaranteed free money. Disney does this a lot with their properties. Star Wars and Marvel are great examples. They don't need to make something good, they just need to make literally anything and because it's such a massive franchise it'll sell regardless.

B.) One of their main focuses right now is clearly that JKR is in a bad spot and if they can fully dethrone Harry Potter as The de-facto middle grade fantasy series (cause PJO is fully number 2) that's going to be really good for them. Because it basically guarantees that PJO will be even MORE free money. That's probably part of why we got the show when we did, because HP was trying to move forward with an HP show. (And the HP show was probably announced when it was to directly try to compete with PJO) (Also don't forget, Disney also owns the PJO movies now. They don't need to do better than the movies because they're competing with themselves. In fact, by constantly pitting the show against the movies, they're basically doubling advertising for themselves by drawing attention to both.)

B.5.) Another thing is that if they dethrone HP, that's gonna not only hurt Universal, but SEVERELY hurt Universal PARKS, which is the Disney Parks' number one competitor. And the Disney parks are also in a tight spot right now and they REALLY want breathing room. (You might have heard that the Disney parks are doing a TON of cuts and reshuffling right now.) They don't need to actively put PJO stuff in their parks (yet), because just by taking out HP they'd massively injure what is basically the number one draw to the Universal parks (which is probably also why the Universal parks is expanding right now, particularly in similar avenues to how the Disney parks are expanding, re: more fantasy-focused areas and an emphasis on animated/Dreamworks franchises - Universal needs to be able to continue competing with Disney in the absence of HP, and it seems like they're panicking a little bit - so they're leaning more on their Dreamworks properties as Dreamworks becomes a significant competitor to Disney re: animation and otherwise just copying Disney's homework and also making more fantasy-focused park areas right now) and thus Disney would totally kneecap their primary competitor. That would increase draw to their own parks in the absence of a significant competitor and also then if they add literally any PJO stuff to the parks (which would be INCREDIBLY easy just due to the nature of PJO - especially as they cycle out older and less profitable IPs from the parks) then they'd basically IMMEDIATELY get a massive draw from what used to be the HP crowds - because a lot of those casual crowds do not particularly care about HP itself. It's entirely just that HP is the number one mainstream middle grade fantasy series. If PJO takes that spot then they'll just go to wherever PJO stuff is, because they're a passive audience, not an active audience (though Disney is also VERY much known for it's active audience and being partially responsible for making fandom as a concept mainstream and directly advertising to that market - tying back to the first post, lmao).

C.) Disney is DESPERATELY trying to save their streaming service. That's why it's so emphasized that PJO TV is a Disney+ series. Disney is kind of in hot water with investors because streaming services all across the board are tanking and Disney+ is a big one that's going down. That's why they're pivoting so much towards streaming and throwing literally whatever Marvel and Star Wars at it, because they know those are massive franchises that practically support themselves and any kind of draw to the platform is good. PJO is part of that - it's a massive well-established mainstream franchise with a passionate audience. It's practically a default classroom choice for assigned reading and that's free advertising/publicity. They know they can make a mediocre PJO adaptation and throw it on Disney+ and it will have a draw and that's all they need. They just want more eyes on the platform period to try and prove that it's profitable. Not to mention how we just explicitly know the CoTG trilogy only exists as marketing for the show. The recent books are not meant to be a continuation of the story. The actual content within them is literally irrelevant. CoTG trilogy only needs to exist so that it can bring more attention to the show (which is why it's being grouped in with the first series, because search engine optimization). TSATS only needed to exist to get people to stop being mad at Rick/get distracted from his little PR disaster.

Disney has also been doing a lot of cost cutting with their media recently, particularly also relying on their own brand to make new stuff profitable because they're actively looking for cheap solutions instead of making new things. They don't do 2D animation anymore because 2D animation is more expensive because it's unionized. 3D animation has also since become unionized and yknow what they're doing now? Shifting to live action. Shifting to CGI, which is only starting to become unionized because it's newer. They're making one billion live action remakes of existing properties because those properties are profitable and a live action remake is cheap. They don't need to worry about making it good because press is press and they know it will sell regardless. They can cast some popular actors for some default attention and leave it at that (Hi LMM cameo). Even with their newer animated movies - Wish was entirely reliant on the fact that it was heavily drawn from other Disney properties and they used that as an active selling point. Meanwhile they're intentionally tanking other new projects (see: Strange World) because they want to be able to turn around and say projects like that aren't profitable and aren't worth making. (This isn't a conspiracy theory btw, they do intentionally flop certain movies. This is a regular thing Disney does and they've been doing it for a while.) This type of cost-cutting strategy is very clear with the PJO show - they have this absolutely massive budget that isn't reflected in the end project at all. It's extremely clear to anyone with anyone with eyes that they're majorly cutting corners all the time (blatantly avoiding even slightly more complex CGI cause that'd cost money, CGI that is shown is often extremely cheap looking or rushed, reusing assets for Olympus, speeding through certain scenes, very little done with costuming - ever notice how all the costuming in the show looks way too new? The costuming department is supposed to weather even just basic outfits to make them look worn-in and they don't seem to have done that. - poor lighting to obscure details because actually making it look good costs more, etc etc) and the show is poorly produced. They have the money to do it properly. Someone is pocketing that. Usually it's executives. This is not unusual behavior! I would not be surprised at all to hear if it was the case with PJO TV too!

Tl;dr: I don't think the quality of recent books going down is because they expect the books to have a shorter pop culture lifespan, i think it's just a combo of the current publishing industry overall dropping in quality and Disney being Disney and not caring beyond saving their own butts and making a quick buck.

[notedchampagne]

finished reading exordia! its a book about people having fucked up relationships and making terrible decisions all while staying true to themselves. it took me a while to get into the flow because seth dickinson loves his slow buildup and 5 billion chess pieces and ultra-detailed sci-fi worldbuilding, but i think it all came together fantastically and im left with an emotion i cant parse after the ending.

my book rec below, no spoilers:

youll like this book if you like: unhealthy relationships, seeking out truth through well-done worldbuilding, fun new dynamics classifications! homestucks in looking at you; the agony of feeling like a wallflower and being at odds with your family (this is specifically targeted to one character, chaya panaguiton, a ugandan-filipino butch with issues on how she matters to other people), aliens that fascinate and disgust, morality questions, and ESPECIALLY meta commentary on the essence of narratives itself

things that may frustrate you about this book if youre not fond of them: multiple POVs, intricate details on worldbuilding, im talking physics and aircraft and geopolitics mentions - but to be fair, dickinson tends to be good at clearing up the more abstract concepts. he likes to retierate and reclassify terms he WANTS you to remember in metaphor upon metaphor, so if you have the patience then you wont mind - pop culture references (not a dealbreaker, just a bit annoying as someone who lives under a rock), loss and the feeling of grief piling upon itself trolley-question style. seth doesnt shy away from giving you death and loss to understand the gravity of the situation, and i think he is good at playing with tragedy and hope in this way.

you should definitely have a little translator app ready with you. theres a lot of interjections from multiple languages that give nice snippets of insight if you do translate them

[year2000electronics]

I was thinking about this for a little bit but what would happen if Reverse Mabel (especially post-weirdmageddon) meets Anti-Mabel.

Seeing some call Reverse Mabel "evil" I feel this would be a very intresting interaction, Reverse Mabel may see her as someone she could of easily become.

ahh, the "anti" dimension. i ruminated on the concept a LOT back when lost legends first released! i think theres an amateurish fic i wrote somewhere in my files of anti-mabel getting basically-adopted by a one of us au ford BUT I CANT FIND IT.

excuse the opportunity im taking to rant about the idea of anti mabel as a whole lol, but... [continued under cut!]

her dimension is a little confusing to think about sometimes, because the story she comes from, don't dimension it, i think a lot of us can widely agree was almost too much of a "pivot" in a direction we didnt really need to go? it's focusing on addressing mabel's "selfishness", especially in the wake of that flood of mabel hate that started picking up steam, but i feel like the version of mabel that exists in don't dimension it is just... not very true or accurate to the actual character. it feels like a very extended "sorry we had mabel make a rash decision in the heat of the moment that the characters forgave her for because they understand and love her. we will now proceed to have a dimension of all mabels where theyre portrayed as so self-absorbed that theyre all stuck on that dimension with no hope of returning home." excuse my dramatic wording but i swear to god that's what it feels like! and that's what it READS like!

mabel got "caught up in her own mabelness"? she gets distracted with crafts and cats like a SQUIRREL?? the idea of her neglecting those around her being put directly next to her going "i caused an entire apocalypse just to get one more day of summer?" SHE WAS GOING TO LOSE TOUCH WITH HER BROTHER. SHE WAS GETTING LIED TO AND TRICKED BY A GUY WHO HAS LITERALLY BEEN TRYING TO START THE APOCALYPSE FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS NOW. its really ridiculous and it doesnt play well at ALL. this kind of thing really shows to me how trying to please bad-faith critics will literally only make the end product worse.

"but what does that have to do with anti mabel though?" well, anti-mabel's "evil" kinda gets affected by the moral of this story, don't you think? if they arent getting mabel right, then what is this ultimate "anti-mabel" really going to be? not really a reflection of any mabel i know. that's for sure.

but that aside, looking at everything that we know about anti-mabel, her dimension is kinda... played off as a joke? she feels a lot more like a joke character to me more than anything at this point lol

not that i really needed that much development from a one-off antagonist from a silly gravity falls comic but like. how is anti-mabel literally SUPERVILLAIN-TIER EVIL? what? where is she getting the resources for this?? and then you have the rest of her family who are all just like, chill? and its like WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON ANYMORE.

anyways. back to trying to answer the question i was literally asked. i think post-weirdmageddon mabel would see anti-mabel in a different light, thats for sure. anti-mabel's family is nothing like her! maybe she's just lonely. rev mabel knows you can't just get away with doing evil stuff, at least she's learning that, but i think some part of her would sympathize with her deep down

[imagineitdearies]

I know that anyone under 100yo is considered young among elves and vampires. But I do wonder. Do you think Astarion or Tyrus ever trully noticed their age gap?

Hey anon!! Great question. As per usual, our boys have very different mindsets about things, so I'll talk about one then the other 😂

Astarion: At the start of their first true meeting (in ch4), Astarion already goes in with assumptions about Tyrus being young, both because Tyrus looked young in their brief crossing-paths in ch2, and because Cazador generally likes his spawn young. Considering he's a drow/full elf, though, there's a good amount of room for error--Tyrus could look the way he does and be anywhere from 20 to 140 years. And after learning Tyrus is almost a century (96 years) younger than him, Astarion does feel a bit guilty for finding him attractive, but his actual horror when Tyrus says he's 24 and Astarion calls Cazador "that fucking monster" isn't just about the number. It stems more from the fact that Tyrus hadn't even left his childhood home behind, or experienced any true hallmarks of adulthood before being imprisoned eternally. In that sense, Tyrus is Turned with the least amount of life experience of any of Cazador's spawn (save Amanita).

Throughout part 1 and part 2 of PS--whilst Tyrus is just learning how to survive and then acclimate in Szarr Palace--Astarion is mostly just wrestling with the problematic aspects of their inevitably-deepening intimacy, this included. Tyrus's youth adds yet another layer to the skewed power dynamics, after all. It takes a while (three years, to be precise) for Astarion to reconcile his feelings for Tyrus given Tyrus's stolen adulthood and sexual inexperience, on top of other things like Cazador's clear manipulation and the weakness Astarion thinks love can be. But by the time Tyrus says the big ILY in ch15, Astarion finds he can no longer tell himself the lie anymore that Tyrus only has fallen for him because Cazador made it all so. "Gods be damned, I even believe you," he realizes aloud.

From then on, these sorts of concerns fade into the background of his other growing concerns for Tyrus's wellbeing, their freedom/survival, etc.!

Tyrus: On other hand, Tyrus? He has zero concept of why this might matter. Astarion is obviously more informed about the hell they live in, more experienced in weathering it, but really that's true of everyone around Tyrus. And with a mixed race family (Dad being a full drow, adopted Mom and Cynda being half-elves), from a town that seems to have a lot of elf and human and intermixing between the two, I don't think Tyrus grew up seeing this as abnormal.

. . . that being said, I have thought for a while it'd be funny to write a little scene about Tyrus complaining in a big brother fashion about the Cynda/Halsin age gap (a much larger 224 years), then Astarion scoffing and pointing out their own to Tyrus at last 😂

Thanks a ton for this lovely question anon! Always happy to discuss Tystar 🥰🩵

[saurongorthaur9]

ROP S2E7 Spoilers

So...the stupid kiss did indeed happen, and as promised yesterday, I need to vent and get it out of my system. It was every bit as stupid and unnecessary as I feared it would be; somehow, I was hoping if that was what happened, that somehow it wouldn't be as bad as it sounded? But yeah...it was. This is probably going to be a pretty long post, as I've been thinking a lot about what bothers me so much about it as a concept and I have a lot of Thoughts.

A disclaimer to begin with: yeah, part of me is disappointed that it wasn't the kiss I hoped it would be, but I knew from the start that a Sauron kiss would be very, very unlikely. If it had happened, it would have been less about a ship for me, and more about the validation for me of getting an onscreen Sauron kiss in a huge, professional production as I've written about in other posts. I would have loved a Sauron kiss, but that's not what is really bothering me on more than a surface level. So with that disclaimer aside...

I think I can break what bothers me down into two basic categories.

The first is more straightforward: it was SO unnecessary. Yes, there needed to be some way for Galadriel to get free, but there are so many ways it could have been set up without a weird, incredibly uncomfortable kiss that came out of absolute nowhere being necessary. He could have gently stroked her hair and slipped it behind her ear or into her hair itself (I used to have very long hair, and a pin like that would definitely get stuck if you tucked it in.) If they wanted to go the humorous, cliché route, they could have had him sneak it to her in a pie (that's a joke, I'm also glad they didn't do that, but my point is, they had options).

They could have set up the scene with a different tone and gone the Frodo-and-Sam-as-orcs route and had them fake a fight. I actually would have loved this. It could have been a culmination of the resentment and tension that's been building between the two of them all season to let off some steam at each other. It could have been one of those "we're fake fighting, but we're also real fighting at the same time" sort of scenes (which are delicious when pulled off right) where we could have gotten some real interesting character development and relationship development between the two of them before the orcs pulled them apart (but not before Elrond slipped the pin into her hand or tunic while pretending to push her or something).

The kiss however did nothing. Per my last two paragraphs, it being a kiss wasn't necessary for the plot. It didn't do anything to reveal anything about Elrond and Galadriel's relationship or develop it in any way. It didn't develop either Elrond or Galadriel's character in any way. It was purely and utterly for shock value.

And that's the first big thing: I really hate things used for shock value. It's a personal pet peeve of mine. And to make it clear, there's a different between using something for shock value and doing something shocking. Mirdania's death was pretty shocking, but it served the purposes of both showing how utterly ruthless Sauron is and solidified the elven soldiers' doubt in Celebrimbor's sanity. But using something for mere cheap shock value is so disappointing of the show. The writing had been SO good, everything had been so deliberate and intentional, that it made the sudden breach of that even more jarring and unpleasant.

And it makes me super worried for the future of the show. This show isn't Game of Thrones; it doesn't need shock value. But now they've set the precedent that adding pure shock value is okay for this show. It makes me afraid what else down the road will be thrown in the audience faces just to illicit an unpleasant reaction.

The second major thing that is bugging me about that scene is a little more insidious and subtle. I've seen people saying "it wasn't romantic", but the thing is, whether or not it was intended, romantic tension has now been introduced to Elrond and Galadriel's dynamic. Let me explain.

That scene was a pretty clear example of the Forced Proximity Trope. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, it's the trope of forcing two characters into a circumstance where they share space or physical intimacy that they wouldn't otherwise share. The most infamous version of it is the There Was Only One Bed trope. And the thing is, it's an incredibly romantic-coded trope. It's almost always used between two characters who have suppressed feelings for one another as a way to force them to confront said suppressed feelings. Even if it's used in a not explicitly romantic way, it still sends a subconscious message of romantic tension because that is what that trope is almost exclusively used for.

So yes, there is now romantic tension between Elrond and Galadriel, and I have a feeling they don't plan on doing anything about it.

At this point, I'd almost feel better if they went all the way and went ahead with the subconscious romantic tension. Like, putting Elrond and Galadriel in a romantic relationship wouldn't be my thing personally, but at least it would provide a sense that the writers had a purpose for the scene and for creating that tension. Dropping that and then not going anywhere else with it, and letting that tension fester for the rest of the series without acknowledging it or doing anything about it would be so disappointing and insulting to the audience.

But again, I'll be very surprised if they ever bring it up again.

And I'm sure the writers knew what they were doing. The only two options are that they were oblivious to the connotations of using that trope or that they knew full well, and used it anyway. And I suspect it's the latter. As good as the overall writing for this season has been, I just can't imagine the writers aren't aware of what they were doing in using that trope. I mean, they've deliberately used a number of romantic-coded tropes to build up the Galadriel/Sauron tension. They aren't oblivious, which means they used the Forced Proximity Trope deliberately and fully aware of it's implications.

It just really seriously damaged my faith in the writing of the show, just when I'd been building it up after some big disappointments from Season 1. Again, they've set a precedent, and I'm really worried this isn't the last time they'll pull something ridiculous like this.

Maybe somehow they'll turn it around. Maybe they'll have Galadriel and Elrond bring it up again and deal with the tension, maybe they do plan to have a romantic subplot between the two of them, or maybe they have something planned down the road that will put that moment in a light that shows it as something other than shock value. But I'm currently pretty pessimistic about that happening.

And it's extra disappointing, because the rest of that episode was absolutely amazing. That one bad moment stands out like a wine stain on a white dress because the rest of the episode was so good.

Anyway, that's my rant. I just had to vent and get my thoughts out of my head where they've been swirling. If anyone is feeling the same way and wants to vent with me, my inbox and messages are open.

[hiding-under-the-willow]

For your Watcher! RT concept, do you believe that RT was created as a watcher when he spawned into the world, or that he was once human (or some other hybrid) that ascended into Watcherhood?

If it's the latter, may I ask the story behind it?

Anyways! I love the art, the way you draw, be sure to take breaks, drink water, and eat and sleep well!

I very much believe he came into existence as a watcher rather than being a player who was made one!

I've been dying to talk about this a little, but I kind of view him as like. The inverse of all of the Grian watcher stories you see around. Like where Grian is typically portrayed as a player who became a watcher and couldn't bring himself to stay because of inherent disagreements with the way watchers interfere with the lives of players. I think of RT as a Watcher born that way who very much loves his job, doesn't have moral qualms with the way they interfere or anything, but still comes into conflict with his higher ups on occasion because he doesn't do it for what they would consider the right reasons.

He's enamored by humanity, their practices, their skills, their indulgences, and their emotions. He wanders around using a human name, wearing hand crafted suits he's picked up from various worlds, playing human games, he prefers assignments that involve a lot of face to face interaction with players, and he has a habit of always getting just a bit too attached. He doesn't care for the burocracy or the actions the higher ups would have him take for their own petty reasons because they interfere with what he feels is the real heart, joy, and purpose of what he does.

It's something I could definitely see him eventually coming enough in conflict with them about to quit, leave the same way Grian does. Except there's an added layer there of like. Grian had been human, he had something to go back to. Dan just. Doesn't. If he leaves what does he have? That's something he'd have to figure out for himself. What is he if not a watcher?

It's an idea I might like to play with at some point after the other project I've got planned for him 👀

[midnight-mourning]

1000 kudos/100 Follower Special!

wow so um, there’s a LOT of you now

👀👀👀

WHERE DID Y'ALL EVEN COME FROM LIKE?? HI!! 👋👋👋

AND ALSO

THIS???? CRAZY, incredibly appreciated <3 but also wild

anyway, I think that deserves celebrating! So, here’s a couple ideas I came up with for y’all to vote on, with the option of sharing other ideas in the comments, I’ll do the top two and save the others for the next milestone :)

If the 'other' option gets the most/second most votes, I'll do another poll with ideas that people suggested and we'll go from there. You can scroll down and click the read more if you'd like more info on each option! SO, having said all that:

Letting you guys make the call with this one! I have stuff prepped for all of it, just a matter of people voting since this is ME showing my appreciation to YOU. And again, next milestone will have the opportunity for the other choices :)

Also, this isn't just for followers/the moots either! Anyone is welcome to vote and participate if they'd like to 💙💙

Please also feel free to ask questions in the comments if that helps you with voting! Can't wait to see what you guys pick :D

I will expand on each option here for clarity in your decision making:

CS one-shot: I will write a one-shot (3,000-5,000 words prob) based in the CS universe. It will be canon to the fic but will never be mentioned/referenced in the fic itself so stand alone to read. It may be a future scene, may be based somewhere in the current timeline. Open to ideas on the POV and such (though I have some floating around that I can do ;))

Q&A/Ask the Cast: a classic, I know my ask box is open but here's also a clear chance to ask something that you've been really curious about! I won't share spoilers for the story, but everything else is on the table, including stuff about me, writing etc. Just no super personal questions is all! Additionally, you can ask the cast questions and answers will be in character, perhaps with a little doodle as well ^-^

Finished refs/busts for the cast of CS: I'll post the finished versions of the rough sketches I shared a few months ago, along with the remainder of the cast! This includes the rest of the engineering team, the division heads, the glamrocks, and the DCA! I also will include little blurbs for all the characters as well. This will probably happen eventually anyway BUT if you want them sooner rather than later this is you're chance if you're curious :)

Spooky Season one-shot: something halloween-related that again I'm open to ideas for! Would also be about 3,000-5,000 words in length, could be related to CS or not

Writing Requests: similar to the requests I did for reveal day, same rules apply (no nsfw, suggestive is fine, be specific if you want specific) but a little longer in length (500-1000 words)

Doodle requests: I provide you with a little drawing I made with tender love and care (would be lined, colored, shaded, etc.)

A peek into the drafts: I do in fact have a couple other fic ideas floating around in my brain that I simply haven't started so that I don't get bogged down/focus on CS. I would share those and a little bit of concept art

Other: explained above

[scarlet--wiccan]

Are you watching the Agatha show? I don’t have any desire to but I’ve heard some things about them leaning very heavily into the antisemitic and antiromani elements of like, “witch lore” and stuff, that sounds unbelievably vile (in addition to the already horrible things you’ve discussed). Namely Agatha stealing and eating children and Billy having to get in an oven. Are those things that actually happened in the show?

Yeah, I've been watching it. To be clear, I've been pirating it. You couldn't convince me to pay for Disney +, even before the boycott. But because there is a certain degree of ambiguity around some of the characters and adaptational choices, I want to be informed when I talk about the show.

To date, yes, there have been a couple of throwaway jokes about Agatha eating babies. My impression, so far, is that the show is very preoccupied with pop culture depictions of witches and witchcraft, which, as you can imagine, are shallow and frequently veer into racist territory. This is evidenced by several homages and references to other movies, and many facets of the show's worldbuilding. The baby-eating jokes are just another aspect of this. Agatha frequently makes glib asides about witch stereotypes, the history of witch trials, etc-- either playing into those tropes to make herself seem comically sinister, or else dismissing them in a humorously derisive tone. These sort of jokes are a lot less funny when you're aware that many of those tropes are based in racism and antisemitism, and that witch trials are a part of actual history that, in the real world, were less about witchcraft, and more about religious zealotry, racism, and abuse of power.

All of this just feels extra tone deaf in light of the fact that the show features multiple whitewashed Romani and Jewish characters, it's pulling directly from material that talks very openly about that heritage, and it's built on the back of Wanda/Vision, which did the same thing to an even greater degree. You know, it would be one thing if these characters were just taken out context, and that was the end of it, but it's never just that-- these offensive references persist in spite of the erasure. For example, Lupone's character, Lilia, exemplifies the caricature of an eccentric gypsy fortune teller, despite having been rewritten as a white woman from Sicily.

To be clear, I believe that the folkloric concept of witches-- who, in this context, are more often represented as non-human monsters or spirits-- abducting and/or eating children, can and does exist separately from blood libel. But, that trope has also been closely entwined with antisemitism for a very long time, and with Agatha, we have little choice but to read it through that lens.

As for oven thing-- I do think there is a bit of nuance. Part of the show's premise is that the cast has to traverse a series of surreal magical realms. In this case, they're trapped in a house that is rapidly flooding, and an unexpected exit appears when the oven door pops open and reveals a portal they can escape through. The optics aren't great, and my first thought was that they could have just as easily used a cabinet or the fridge. But the oven was deliberately chosen so that Lilia could make an aside about the witch from Hansel & Gretel-- again, the show is obsessed with making these little nods and references. Given the set-up and intention, the oven situation feels more like an unfortunate coincidence than other, much more overt instances of racist and anti-semitic tropes. But because Lilia and maybe-Billy are in the scene, and there is an established precedent, we do have to acknowledge the image it conjures.

[mellidee]

….okay the more I think about it, the more the rationalization of wanting a clean slate for Veilguard and decreasing the choices of the worldstate so drastically makes less sense.

Nerd ranting under the cut.

I’m one of the many who started with Inquisition, and yes, I was a little confused. Yes, I did feel like my enjoyment of Inquisition felt a bit lessened because there’s a lot of cameos and references I was completely blind too. But you know what I did?

I went back and played the rest. And all the games felt so much better knowing that this was my world, this was MY Thedas. I grew attached to characters. I finished Inquisition with my custom worldstate and I loved it. And there’s so many people who finished with the default worldstate and loved it. I feel like BioWare is kind of regretting ever doing the concept of worldstates because I get it, it’s so hard to keep track of and when you want to attract new players, having a grand narrative connecting games is really intimidating. But you can gain new fans that way! People might go back and play the rest to see how bad they can screw up their next run of Inquisition and fall in love with the setting even more. Some may just forever love the default state and never play the rest! It doesn’t have to be so one or the other!

They keep stressing that this is Rook’s story and it’s their time to shine; Origins’ is the Warden’s story. DA2 is Hawke’s story. Inquisition is the Inquisitor’s story. But all four of these stories make up the tapestry that is the story of Thedas. I love the Keep, and I adore the Mass Effect Archives just because I can build the tapestry and see everything laid out. To remove elements of past stories, to not hear characters reference their own histories is removing the cohesion of the story of the world itself, and breaking player immersion. Yes, the characters still exist offscreen and we have our headcanons, we can “make up” what happened next: but even as someone who lives for headcanons, I still like seeing tangible things. I want more moments like my Warden threatening my Inquisitor to keep Alistair safe. I want Morrigan to mention her son. I really wanted to see how Vivienne as Divine would have any ramifications ten years down the road. They didn’t need to be huge cameos, but it made the world feel so lived in, so personalized. But nope, I just have to make it up I suppose.

I’m sure the game will be great, I’ll still play it. But on a scale from 1 - 100 on the hype scale, I plummeted from a 90 to a 45. I was a bit bummed with the combat because I like the overhead tactical pause and I love taking control of companions, but I could live without it. This was a major hit. I’m scared for Mass Effect, because I love it more than Dragon Age. I don’t want my favorite sci fi setting to get watered down.

[crowiin]