#I intentionally did not even consider what the plot would be because I don’t like setting hard expectations

[nerdyenby]

The Marvels is so good what the fuck (spoiler free)

Every character was likable and believable. The interactions were incredible. It was such a thoroughly fun watch but it’s so emotional and it feels so real and genuine. The rawness is unparalleled. The fight scenes are some of the most captivating and rewatchable I’ve ever seen. The villain was great (a perfect mix of being absurdly unhinged and actually reasonable). The music is so good. I had decently high (soft) expectations and they were blown out of the water, I highly recommend giving it a watch :))

[amphitriteswife]

Hiii there~ can I ask for a favor to write with healing plot for Indra from Snv plsss? I find him quite sarcasm, carefree but solitude. Reader will be the one to enter to his life and accompany with him and lift up his spirit. thank youuuuu

Ofcourse! I hope i did this right! Sorry if it’s not how you want it to be! Sorry if it’s short, feel free to ask more things/ scenarios if you like!

Into the light

⚡️Indra x fem! Reader ⚡️

I based this a lil off the mythology since i’m hindu myself! Sorry if it’s bad. It’s my first request😭

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Indra sometimes thinks about why he fell for you. It’s something he can’t quite bring into question. He is a sarcastic, arrogant, carefree but lonely god. Often left alone and only caring about fighting. His life had a normal routine. He always smoked, fought, sought trouble, then sleeps. It was something he did daily for centuries. Something he considered the norm. He didn’t hate it, nor disliked it. Feelings and emotions weren’t his thing, this caused him to be uninterested in most things in his life even more. Indra isn’t one to love, nor to have a crush on someone. One can say that his title as the god of the storms and thunder fits him well for his personality. A gloomy yet nonchalant god. It became a running joke between Rudra and Shiva to refer to him as a clouded man. Not that Indra minded anyway.

Yet, one faithfull day he watched over the earth from the heavens, the rain pouring over the land, the shadows of the clouds casting a rather gloomy and grey like atmosphere on the lands. It made him smirk to see how right most gods and deities were about him, the rain and thunder, the grey clouds and gloomy atmosphere really fit him as they say. It was almost laughable. One of his hand was brought to his mouth, between his middle and index finger was a cigarette, his mind was amused by himself and his thought, yet his eyes held the same uninterested look. The slight damp, yet still lit cigarette hanging on for it’s life while a small puff of smoke escaped his lips. The smell of tobacco filling his nostrils. Smoking was something that he did often, yet it was something that brought him a slight bit of joy.

Indra’s eyes were still dull, lazily watching over the humans who disliked the rain, complaining about the weather and their mood worsening what made him chuckle. Yet he his eyes soon caught the attention of one of the mortals who seemed happy in the rain. This confused him, a mortal? Happy? Because of rain and thunder he causes intentionally? It made him raise an eyebrow. It almost baffled the god. No logical reason came to his mind as to why one would like this gloomy, annoying and depressing atmosphere and weather. Yet, because it was so illogical it also intrigued him more. Are you doing this to catch his attention? Well, you certainly succeeded. He finds you interesting, but don’t let that fool you. Indra is only interested, not placing trust in you.

That faithful day where he suddenly showed interest in you changed everything in his life. Many other gods had things to say and found it suspicious that Indra often spent his time on earth, a place he almost never went to and caused bad weather on for his own fun. No one knew much about the god himself anyway, only his routine and basic knowledge. What was only that he smoked a lot. Indra himself on the other hand hadn’t noticed how much you changed his life. He felt more..alive. He couldn’t even described what he felt for you. Every time he saw you the thunder and rain stop, the shadows of the clouds moved away, the thick gloomy atmosphere casted upon himself and the land suddenly disappeared, and a ray of sunshine shined brightly. A sunshine that symbolized the new light in his life. You. His dear mortal lover who made him realize that the thunder and rain needed the sun. You meant so much to him, to a deep level even the sea bottom was more accessible to reach. Your bright and warm smile, the beaming radiation of happiness that you brought along with you no matter where you went, your humble yet patient personality that helped everyone and everything. You truly were the opposite of him.

Often he finds himself guilty, thinking about the times he didn’t trust you or accused you of using him. Yet you always put up with it. You could handle someone like him. That’s what he found so admirable about you, even trough his flaws, his nonchalant attitude, his sarcasm, his arrogance… you loved him for who he was. And that alone made him fall for you even harder. One can say anything that they like about him, but you, you were a different situation. Ue wouldn’t let anyone talk about you that way, even if it meant he had to fight his fellow gods.

it is said among the gods itself, love usually comes when it’s unexpected. The polar opposites of each other is what attracted one another.

Thank you for your request! @monohopeworld 🥹🩵

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

since zionists are coming to whine in my dms that I’m so mean for supporting Palestinians who “had it coming for being terrorists” (yeah, zionists are definitely not racist, huh?), let me make this very simple.

Let’s say your great-great grandparents built a home on some land. They built it by hand, and your family has lived there for generations, fixing it up as old things needed renovations or just stopped working or they just wanted to make it compatible with new things like electricity when that came out. You grew up there, your parents grew up there, and your grandparents grew up there, and now you have children of your own starting to grow up there too.

You loved that house, it’s the only home you’ve ever known and years of loving care had made it beautiful, it even has a garden that your great grandparents planted olive trees in, and of course by now it’s a flourishing orchard. Your family are the only ones who had ever lived in that house, but your family had become quite diverse throughout the decades as children grew up and married, some new family members looked and lived quite like you, and some looked and lived differently, and you thought little of it because, why would you?

Then one day a stranger comes by with a feed to your family’s home, claiming the government had settled a deal that since this stranger’s great-great-great-great grandparents first owned that land and were forced off of it by people who looked a bit like you. The stranger gives you an ultimatum to leave the land immediately because they consider it to rightfully belong to them, or die. Some of your family flees, you don’t blame them, but you stand your ground as best as you can, but the stranger has guns, and strong friends to supply them. They kill your mother, blind your father, kidnap many of your siblings and cousins and so you take your children and anyone who’s left and flee to the far side of the property, on the half still allowed to them by the government’s ruling. For a time it’s fine, but the stranger wasn’t satisfied, and finds you again in the new home you were building. See, the way the stranger sees it, their ancestors had originally owned ALL of that property, so they figured that was what they were owed. You plead with them to let you stay, or even just to not hurt your family. Your pleas are denied.

This time they killed your children. They killed your cousins. They killed most of your siblings. Your family and your home, all gone in front of your eyes.

Do you think you would still care whether or not the stranger was right about who owned that plot of land first, or would you perhaps care more about what they just did to everything you held dear?

Zionists like to say “well hamas should have never ever taken hostages” and feign ignorance as to why hamas is gaining support at an exponential rate.

It’s not that complicated. If your options are stand there and get shot or get a gun and shoot back, are you really going to pretend to be confused by most people going with the second option?

No. You aren’t. You want to spin the narrative that people calling for a free Palestine are terrorists who want to see the death of all jews and some nebulous “scary muslim takeover”, but I know you’re not that dumb. I know you've seen videos posted by the IDF’s own beating, kidnapping, and killing civilians. I know you’re not stupid enough to honestly believe those are all terrorists, even the children. I know most of you aren’t even under the delusion hamas is just like ISIS.

This is deliberate. Genocide is easiest when the aggressor plays victim to try to say it’s self defense, but here’s the thing—

It doesn’t matter how many times you claim otherwise, hind did not deserve to die. If she was the ONLY child the IDF killed intentionally, that would be unforgivable, but given there are tens of thousands of children that have lost life or limb at the hands of the IDF, it’s indefensible. It’s murder. A child trapped in a car with her family’s bodies after the IDF attacked being used to lure out aid workers and kill them all at once is just evidence you have lost your humanity. I hate that I even have to only talk about the children because you think every adult in Palestine is secretly an evil terrorist, it’s a lot harder to say that about a child with an age in the single digits, but many of you still try to anyway.

Racism is a hell of a thing, and some of you are a little too drawn in by the idea of killing all the brown people in a region so you can build beach resorts and theme parks.

If Palestinian land is so sacred and divinely promised to the Israelis to the point the Israeli government considers all rain fall to be explicitly property of israel, why are you taunting it with the blood of the innocent and desperate?

I don’t know, I think if anyone but a Zionist tried to justify bombing hospitals and dressing as aid workers to kill as many of an ethnic group as possible, people may be a bit reasonably against that, but for some reason it’s fine as long as the group committing the genocide has enough oppression points stocked up from previous incidents.

[bright-side20]

Elain/The Cauldron

I don’t know if it is a coincidence but I think it's worth highlighting, the Cauldron seems to have given Elain a power similar to what he was before being corrupted by Daglan,which what think it's a proof that she reminded it of its origins.

Nesta:

"The Fae say the Cauldron holds our fates. Maybe it became this Urd."

And what did it make Elain? A seer who can control fate, and she already did that during the war by saving Cassian and Nesta.

Azriel :

"All life came and comes from it," Azriel said with something like reverence. "The Mother poured it into this world, and from it, life blossomed."

Acowar :

Elain, who it had gifted with such powers, found her so lovely it had wanted to give her something … It would not harm Elain, even in its hunt to reclaim what had been taken.

What had been taken? Death. What would he give to Elain? Life. Because that's what she reflects. I think the power it gave her is definitely related to the ability to give and create life, which fits the plot of bringing life back to the barren lands.

Acomaf:

The Cauldron was absence and presence. Darkness and whatever the darkness had come from. But not life. Not joy or light or hope.

We now know where the darkness came from; it's because the Dagglan used their power to turn it.

Acowar:

“Elain had always been gentle and sweet—and I had considered it a different kind of strength. A better strength. To look at the hardness of the world and choose, over and over, to love, to be kind. She had always been so full of light.”

Elain represents the contrast of what the Cauldron had become, yet she also embodies its original purpose. This reminder of its origins led the Cauldron to gift her with powers akin to its original duties: controlling fate and creating life.

What I want from Elain's bond rejection is for it to lead to something unexpected. the Cauldron is wrong but what if it did it intentionally ? What if it knows that she's the key to returning it to its original purpose? Nullifying a Cauldron's bond isn't something anyone would easily achieve. Perhaps that could lead to discovering a way to fix the Cauldron.

[shanksxbuggy]

Pls pls pls rant more about ur theories and thoughts abt op and this recent chapter i need ur analysis sm thank you for ur posts ur one of shuggys greatest blogs!!!

Thank you for liking my humble little offerings!! Every day I toil in the shuggy mines ⛏

In this spread, if Oda really did intentionally put a mirror parallelism between opposite forces, then it might imply that Buggy and Shanks would clash in the future because of their differing ideologies.

I’ve also seen people worrying that the parallels might signify a battle to the death, where only one side can come out on top. Basically pairs with contradicting desires that conflict with each other.

So I’m thinking, what kind of conflicting ideology between Shanks and Buggy would put them on this level?

Out of all people in this race - his arch-nemesis Blackbeard, the authoritarian government who slaughters innocents - it’s Buggy who mirrors Shanks as his polar opposite.

What’s interesting to me is that Shanks seems to have his own plans for the One Piece.

Since Buggy is about materialistic greed and wants to find the treasure for his own gratification (not for any grander scheme involving the fate of the world), when I think about the opposing side, maybe Shanks wants to destroy the One Piece so no one can have it, which would put him in direct conflict with Buggy’s interests.

Imagine there’s a big pile of treasure and priceless artifacts, and Shanks says ‘well I’m going to destroy all of this so no one can have it’. That would be enough to piss Buggy off and start a fight.

When Shanks uses the word ��get’, the word he uses has the implication of ‘take by force’ or ‘steal’, almost as if someone else has it.

If I consider the possibility that Shanks plans on destroying the One Piece, this wording could imply he’s going to ‘take away’ the One Piece from anyone trying to possess it.

Since Buggy’s goals are selfish, as his direct opposite, Shanks’ goals might be selfless. Shanks doesn’t want the One Piece for himself, and if anyone does want to claim it, they’ll have to defeat him to do it. So in that way, he’s safeguarding it.

Just from how different Shanks’ expression is from the other Emperors, it’s like he’s the only one who’s not having a fun pirate adventure hunting unknown treasure.

Compared to every other ‘opposite parallel’ in this spread, Shanks vs Buggy seems very different. They’re the only opposites who actually care about each other despite their differences. Compared to the other matchups, their conflict seems kind of petty and personal.

I don’t think Shanks and Buggy will truly have a fight to the death. I’m not sure Shanks would even be able to fight Buggy seriously.

If they ever were to face off against each other, it might end up being like the challenge between Dorry and Brogy, where it’s a match between two people who care for each other and in the end won’t be happy seeing the other person lose. Unlike everyone else who’ll probably have to kill each other to stop their opponent, Shanks and Buggy have the desire to save each other. So their outcome won’t be the same as everyone else.

Honestly, besides comic relief and leading characters like Mihawk and Crocodile to the One Piece, Buggy doesn’t look like he has much of a role in the final battle royale. He isn’t important to the main plot or Luffy’s development, he isn’t strong and doesn’t have useful information, he doesn’t represent some moral good or ideology, even as a villain he’s not so evil that he needs to be defeated. So what is his purpose, why did it have to be Buggy with this important role in the finale? It’s likely that Buggy, as a character, exists for Shanks’ endgame.

Whatever Shanks’ endgame is, Buggy will play an important part in it, because narratively their fates were written to be intertwined. They were set up as narrative foils from the start, and even more so now they continue to foil each other. Buggy was written for Shanks, though we don’t know for what future purpose it’ll be. Whether they’ll cause each other’s downfall or save each other’s lives, some kind of redemption arc for Buggy or character resolution for Shanks, they’ll both have an effect on each other’s fate.

It’s all just me speculating, of course, because I crave analysis.

When did this answer get so long! I started writing this out and it just went off on its own and kept going.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

So, Raven x Rollo is canon now? 👀 Honestly, i would love to read that and see their dynamic/interaction with each other. Especially if a certain Eel is going to be jealous >:'D

What's the ship name going to be? Ravelo? Roaven? Rolven?

I just love the fact that Rollo isn't even in the main story and already stole and keeps stealing the hearts of other fans! even with little content! This dude just exists and steals your heart 😭

[Referencing this post!]

WELL 😭 I don’t know????? I (the irl person) enjoy Rollo as a character, but I haven’t ever intentionally written Miss Raven (the OC) and Rollo’s interactions as romantic though I’m 100% willing to entertain the idea lol. Up to now, it’s been more like Raven is the girl next door that keeps knocking and demanding that Rollo come and build a snowman with her or something… An annoying cockroach he can’t kill off 💀 They have really strong enemies to lovers and sunshine gf/brooding bf potential, especially since Rollo considers her to be a servant of evil (as Crowley’s niece) and one of Malleus’s lackeys (when Miss Raven and Malleus only interact with each other professionally). A friend of mine calls this ship Ravollo, but I don’t think there has to be a specific name for it.

… I think it would be funny if Malleus is just there to make unwanted commentary about Raven and Rollo’s relationship. Even better if his commentary is all wrong (“Young Crowley, Flamme is passing you a rather heated gaze. Fufu, perhaps you’ve for yourself a bit of an admirer.” “… Malleus-senpai, he is giving you a ‘heated gaze’ because he cannot stand to be in the same room as you without his blood pressure spiking.”)

Anyway, I did happen to get a few Raven-Rollo interaction requests recently, so you have those to look forward to. No Jade in those, unfortunately!! But you can always look at this fan art, which basically summarizes how J word feels about Rollo x Raven (just replace m!Yuu in that fan art with Miss Raven in your imagination, lol).

It’s his unrelenting rage and two-faced attitude + taking everything TOO seriously, it makes Rollo so endearing in the same way you’d find a constantly angry cat that always scratches you cute… My dude, you’re still just a student, sit down and munch on a croissant or something instead of plotting on propping up a new magicless world order OTL I’m sure that’ll look great on your college application essay, but there’s such a thing as too much ambition/j

[liketwoswansinbalance]

Why Rafal Might Still Be a Never and Rhian Might Still Be an Ever

Alternate title: Fall Could Have a Double Plot Twist and Here’s Why

I consider this to be my ultimate thematic theory, but really it’s nothing that new or revolutionary. Except, the Old in disguise. I don’t blame Rafal for his major trust issues. I really don’t. Because, so much is environmental and conditional. That is the backbone of this post.

First, could the cover of Rise have been a red-herring, intentionally misleading? (With Rafal on Good’s side and Rhian on Evil’s. Their helmets are not swapped however.) What if all along their swapping sides was a double plot twist?

Side note: The cover of Rise could be unlike the cover of book 1. The opposite in fact, as book 1’s cover revealed the truth. Sophie was on Evil’s side, Agatha on Good’s.

Plus, the helmets are more directly tied to their heads, their selves, their souls. However, the castles are settings. They are situational, circumstantial, environmental, conditional. A person being there (at their designated School) is dependent on circumstance and their nature, yes, but locations can change. Rafal changed his location by traveling. Rhian changed his by shaping it with his architectural projects. They are not in the same place they once were in. Helmets could also change, but helmets are more intrinsically personal. They are personal belongings, and are still more directly tied to, and physically close to a person’s head and thoughts. Also, armorers do specifically make custom helmets sometimes.

Maybe, Soman only intended to make us believe:

Rafal = Good

Rhian = Evil

Only to double-subvert it. I wouldn’t put it past Soman because he likes sowing seeds of confusion.

Also, unless it’s for a really intentional juxtaposition: would Soman really use the same, old Sophie and Agatha plot again but with a tragic ending? I think he tends to favor novelty to keep his storytelling fresh, even if there are often parallels. I know Fall wouldn’t have the exact same plot, but Rise comes close. Functionally, this duology could have the same plot as The School Years, even if the individual events, pivotal points, and pacing are different. But still. Why would Soman repeat himself if instead, he could double-subvert it? Why not? His plots are always clever. Or, is that too predictable?

Then, there’s this:

"It's not who we are. It's what we do."

If I have misquoted this, please correct me. This line has been said by Lady Lesso (who opposed Rafal’s New Evil) in TLEA and toward the end of Rise, by Rafal himself. Yet, we have to keep in mind that Rafal said it first, in the prequel. So, actually, he could have changed and turned cynical over time. He could have lost sight of his own original Balanced perspective, turned extremist, as seems to be the case in TLEA when it’s compared to his characterization in Rise. Assuming it is actually him in TLEA and not someone else. So, it boils down to this. He lost sight of his own philosophy. And, I think I have an idea as to why. Because, in TLEA, he tends to put more weight on who they are, the students' and Sophie's souls, than what they do.

And, losing sight of his own philosophy could easily be explained by any measure of trauma, loss, the other effects of war on his psyche, the passage of time, the anticipated effects of Neverland and its politics, constant betrayal, or other interpersonal human experiences, with people, to change his outlook on what human beings are. And, to change his outlook on what their souls are fundamentally determined by. I say this because the one change we haven’t yet seen in SGE is a true conversion from one side to another. Thus, a change in philosophy is more grounded and internally consistent with the series as a whole than introducing new magical rules. (Hook breathing Rafal’s soul could contradict this.) Throughout it all, actions could change alignments, but souls never did. No matter how hard Sophie tried, she couldn’t be Good; she could only do Good.

In other words, too many bad experiences could make Rafal see some people as inherently bad or as traitors because he’s too overwhelmed by all the new information bombarding him in the tireless paroxysms of the plot to be able to separate individuals from their individual actions. He’s no longer seeing clearly. He is forced to double down and trust his judgment more than ever over other people because he can’t trust others. And, Rhian is no longer even a trustworthy sounding-board. Not that he ever really was. Rafal was always Rhian’s sounding-board.

If the only feedback you ever get is your own, then your thinking will become twisted because there’s nothing external to moderate it, or to tell you you are going crazy in a self-imposed echo chamber. I bet Rafal will absolutely refuse to listen to anyone ever again, with a few minor exceptions of Rhian, until it's too late, and he’s gone over the edge of sanity. It’s all his fault for not communicating. But, it’s the plot keeping him from doing so in the first place. The fog of an impending war could be getting in the way of the clarity of his vision. And, the prophecy only goes further to muddle it up because of its inevitability. People are not consistent, and he’s only seen the part of themselves they’ve presented to him. But, he can’t realize that now. Because, he’s flooded with more and more on his plate.

Categorizing people automatically rather than being able to separate all individuals from their actions is also easier, faster, and more efficient in that it spares you more pain that way, than to weigh every action or what they do.

Thus, I believe Rafal is still Evil in nature, but has done Good and is capable of Good, under certain conditions or in certain circumstances. And, this could be thematically significant. That the brothers always have a choice, in what they choose to do.

And, even though Sophie is firmly Evil, she has done genuine Good deeds. She's capable of Good deeds, especially in regards to Agatha, so who's to say the same logic doesn't apply to Rafal in regards to Rhian and Rhian only. Aside from when James Hook reminded Rafal of Rhian. That’s a whole other kettle of fish. Thank you to @eatgan for sparking the idea.

Rhian could bring out the best in Rafal, considering he's a (supposedly) Good influence. He loves his brother, and love can cause someone to act out-of-character.

And, Rhian's "love" (read: infatuations) could have easily done the same to him. People will do anything for love or perceived love. “The most dangerous person in a fairy tale is willing to do anything for love.” And, this time around, in what will be the TLEA/full-blown war of this duology, that person is him. Rhian is dangerous in how he's inconstant and (emotionally) unstable but not because he's inherently Evil, like Sophie was. He only has the potential to do Evil for love. Then, there's the factor of love driving people insane. Rhian could be Good, and still be the murderer. Being Good doesn’t absolve him from all suspicion. Fratricide and Evil are not mutually exclusive in this context. Rhian did almost kill Fala. This possibility of Rhian being the murderer might be almost as likely as Rafal being the murderer. Rhian doesn’t have to be Evil to do it.

Love brings out the worst in Rhian, but that's natural or at least common. Because apparently, the not-100%-pure-Good-but-still-Evers Evergirls were absolutely brutal as first-years in book 1. And, I bet Good became vain and egotistical because of Rhian's lasting influence. The Evergirls didn't uphold all of Good's standards until it really came down to it. Until a test. The test of war. So, maybe, the Great War will bring out the brothers' original, assumed, or true natures. If they are indeed what we assumed them to be, and not swapped.

Thematically, this would all be consistent with TLEA and not contradict Soman's earlier messaging, or so I think.

Sophie’s Good deed wasn't erased for all the Evil she's done, as Agatha says in her mirror-twin-souls speech at the climax of TLEA. It still remains, and it will never change, that singular act of befriending Agatha when Agatha was alone. Again, Rafal doesn't need to be an Ever to do Good deeds. The same applies to Rhian. He doesn't need to be a Never to do Evil. The morality of the series was always intended to be grey after all.

Rhian always seemed Good-intentioned, and I still believe he is an Ever. I just think he was led astray from his true nature. Because, if Evil is capable of Good, then Good is capable of doing Evil. Even if Good doesn't become Evil, even if Good isn't being Evil, it can do Evil. Especially, in the name of Good. Especially, if it prioritizes Good results over Evil-leaning actions. Rhian could have accidentally fallen into a “The ends justify the means” mindset.

So, basically, Rhian and Rafal's Good and Evil statuses don't have to change. They can be the same as they always were. How they once were and assumed themselves to be. It wouldn't be contradictory. It would make sense.

Plus, then there's also the point that the brothers are having a particularly abnormal year, given the Storian’s behavior and the unusual case of Aladdin, so their responses could follow suit, and would be reasonably abnormal to match their fraught times. Or, out-of-character from what they're usually like.

To recap, there's still a chance that Rafal is a Never, and Rhian is an Ever, and that it’s only their actions, their deeds, their behaviors, that have betrayed themselves. They could still be their originally-assumed true selves, exactly how the Woods conceived them, and exactly how they thought themselves to be.

[mod-doodles]

I have a question about power dynamics. Is Carmy Sydney boss? I think this is why I definitely did not want a romantic relationship in season 1 and frankly preferred her and Marcus. You may disagree but I think she has romantic interest in him in their dinner scene. But then the writers seemed to flip the power dynamic. Carmy is literally asking her at the end of s1 how their restaurant should look. Further she obviously getting sweat equity so she has ownership of the bear( the alternative is exploitation in my opinion). I think the bear is established/registered as a partnership (not a Corporation) with four partners Nat, Carmy, Uncle Jimmy and Sydney. Jimmy is up to some sketchy tax thing because he giving a loan not an investment but they do call him a partner and fits with the character. Nat is called COO but I guess you can do that with a partnership too? Otherwise the constant use of ‘partner’ is poor writing and illogical. Marcus becomes Syd employee and you see Syd in my opinion rightly so pull back (plus she is focused on the business). Marcus and Syd already had dinner together but when he asks her in season 2 she shuts it down because it is inappropriate now. He would have to quit again to make it work. It seems however to me the evolution of Syd Carmy relationship sets up a possible romance where it was once inappropriate. What do you think is he her boss? What is the set up of the bear is it a general partnership? Is Syd personally liable for business debts and should she trust her partners (looking at sketchy Jimmy)?

Cicero’s mysterious wealth is mostly used as a plot device, currently its not something to place too much emphasis on outside of the confines of ‘The Beef/Bear’. In s01 its the motivating factor for Carmy taking on Sydney COGs, also its situational in forcing Carmy to meet up with the friends and family he’s been avoiding and more importantly helping Richie to have a moment of clarity and reassess his trajectory. It's more entertaining and comical that it comes from a gangster than the bank; as it heightens the stakes and helps tie upon loose end where necessary (the business certificates).

The ownership setup I think we’ll have to hold off until the next season to have it addressed, it was mentioned a couple times with red alerts so it might be a point of contention. I predict that everyone that was in the room during the business meeting has some stake; including Richie because he always appears in frame in some capacity whenever business affairs are discussed. 

The power dynamics with Syd and Carmy were intentionally blurred I think to adjust for the relationship. She’s currently the CDC and he’s the Executive Chef/Owner with Nat, and they defer to Carmy for final decisions so even though she’s treated as an equal she technically isn’t. My assumption is that they are considering the optics and adjusting accordingly. She’s not liable for any debts but the sweat equity she’s invested is invaluable and that shouldn’t be taken for granted, emotional investments can break you just as bad as financial - not you but people on reddit have this conversation when they try to devalue Syd. Stress can manifest itself through your health. 

Carmy asking her what the restaurant should look like had more to do with them collaborating and sweetening the deal because at that point the last thing Syd said to him was ‘so shove it up your ass’, he’s essentially begging her to come back.

I don’t necessarily disagree that she doesn’t have romantic interest in Marcus its more so they had romantic potential, obviously I’m biased so I saw the dinner more like work friends trauma bonding and then Sydney moping about Carmy. That being said if they turned up the romance for both during s02 I’d have supported but they made it one sided and awkward by having Syd curve Marcus at every attempt. I also don’t think her rejecting him had anything to do with the work hierarchy and everything to do with her seeing him as a friend.

[frostyreturns]

God and the State

Either the government is appointed by God and represents God, and should be obeyed and respected as you would obey God... and God is therefore evil...or the government does not represent God and is not appointed by God and you do not as a Christian have to obey or respect the government. Both cannot be true, you have to pick one of these as a believer.

You cannot tell me that a government that trafficks children, kills millions of people, steals endlessly and performs satanic rituals is appointed and endorsed by God. God cannot be a divine perfectly good being and also control or endorse the actions of the government.

Do not quote me that verse in Romans, that is an example of apostasy the original verse in the original language was about God’s authority and obediance to God...not the government. The idea that you had to obey the government didn’t appear until the King James version of the Bible was commissioned and that verse was altered so people would be more obediant to King James who at the time was the government. There are even later versions that include obediance to police so the meaning has been changed over time. I believe the Bible is reliable but I think we also need to be proactive in studying it and making sure the translation we are using is reliable because evil will always try to twist God’s word to suit their needs. The message translation for example not only heavily alters the meaning of the lords prayer it also slips in some satanic phraseology. There are some translations and interpretations that need to be discarded, but the good news is the original meanings and interpretations of the original meanings are still available as reference so we can uncover unbiblical changes.

While I’m on the subject, when Jesus said to render under Caser what is Caesers he was not blanket endorsing the Roman government, he wasn’t even endorsing taxes, context is important when interpreting the Bible. The religious leaders were plotting to have Jesus killed, and they brought up the subject of taxation to Jesus because they were intentionally misunderstanding his stance on giving to God’s work as inherently taking away money from the government. They were hoping he would say something about not paying taxes and giving it to God instead...so they could then run to the Roman government and tell them they needed to have him killed for trying to steal from Caeser. He was clarifying that he was not coming to establish a kingdom on earth or to overthrow any other kingdoms on earth and that he was concerned with eternity, heaven and salvation. Biblically tax collectors were considered some of the worst people and were lumped in with murderers. When tax collectors are mentioned it was in the context of Jesus can forgive even them...that hardly sounds like an endorsement of taxation.

You might be thinking Matt you’re an anarchist maybe you’re just interpreting it this way because it meshes with your worldview, do you have any other Biblical evidence of this view. I’m glad you asked, let’s go all the way back to the old testament before Israel had a king. They wanted to be like all the other tribes of the world who had rulers and asked God to give them a king, God eventually agreed but before he did he warned them explicitly that it was a bad idea. He told them they did not need a king and that if they chose to have one it would only turn out badly, he told them the king would send them to die in wars, he would steal a portion of everything they produce and do all the bad things that every government has done from the beginning of time to the current day. They said yeah we don’t care we want a king and God said fine and everything he warned them about happened. 

How do the Christians who believe in the mistranslation of that verse in Romans that suggests the government acts on behalf of God reconcile that belief with the verse where God cautions against having a king at all. How can you look at the world leaders all having gay sex orgies in front of a pagan statue at bohemian grove and still believe the government is an emisarry of God. 

One God, no kings, no masters

[lonesomedreamer]

SNW Liveblog: “The Elysian Kingdom”

This episode? Messy af. Spock in a wig? Sexy af.

The scene with M’Benga and Rukiya is precious, as always—though the subtext of it (her desire to change endings and rewrite stories more to her liking) is a little on-the-nose, considering that the writers of SNW are basically rewriting a classic television show to suit their own whims.

If Rukiya is running out of time, in theory all M’Benga has to do is stop materializing her so frequently…assuming that, while her pattern is in the transporter, she’s not conscious/aware. If she IS, that’s an entirely different (and horrifying) can of worms.

The exchange about superstitions between Pike and Spock is nice.

“Drinks are on me.” This is why Pike’s crew seems so undisciplined, imo. We know that Kirk would, and did, drink with his crew. But he wasn’t casually offering to buy them drinks from the captain’s chair.

“You gonna say the thing?” “Hit it.” Thanks, I still hate it.

I miss TOS’s buttons and tactile controls so much. They’re just more visually appealing (and frankly, more practical) than touch screens.

“Perhaps you did, indeed, jinx it.” I love Spock, lmao. (Also, as someone who calls out sports announcers and coworkers for jinxing things regularly…Pike totally jinxed it.)

People falling out of their chairs during turbulence is a real Trek classic!

Great, M’Benga is what, hallucinating?

These kinds of zany episodes on TOS/TNG took place either on a strange planet—like in “Squire of Gothos” or “Shore Leave”—or on the holodeck. Setting this on the Enterprise instead was…well, a choice.

La’an’s princess costume is delightfully ridiculous and sparkly.

It’s kind of a bummer to see that Christina Chong has real acting chops (even if “Princess Thalia” is intentionally way over-the-top), but is denied the chance to do much acting thanks to how flatly her character is written.

Ethan is hot. No notes.

“Maybe I can get us out of here with the help of some powerful magic called science.”

I vastly prefer hammy/possessed Kirk to hammy/possessed Pike. Sorry ’bout it. (Maybe it’s just the actors, or maybe it’s because regular Kirk comes off as so much more sincere than Pike to me?)

Why is Hemmer, an alien with inherent telepathic abilities, immune to whatever’s happening on the Enterprise, whereas Spock, an alien (well, half-alien) with inherent telepathic abilities, succumbed to it? I can hand-wave most plot holes…this one’s just lazy writing, though.

Worth it? Worth it.

I would watch THIS show.

“Truthfully, I should have known it as well…since that’s what he does in the book.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“There’s no such place, my queen, he’s bluffing.”

All those lines were funny and delivered well!

Even though classic tricorders look pretty out-of-place on this redesigned Enterprise, I still love seeing them.

The resolution of the Rukiya subplot reminds me a lot of the end of The Motion Picture.

The moral quandry of it is enormous, way bigger than “storing your daughter’s biological pattern in the transporter to keep her alive,” which raises plenty of ethical questions of its own. M’Benga tells Rukiya that “it’s up to you”—but how can such a young child make such a huge decision: to exist in space as a disembodied consciousness for an infinite amount of time or to wait in stasis for a cure for her human body?! It’s uncomfortably reminiscent of the “willing” sacrifice made by the little boy in Episode 6…not really the comparison you want viewers to be drawing, given how that one ended. Children that age can’t give meaningful consent.

Besides, what does M’Benga know about this entity? How do either of them know that they can trust it? It’s been using the Enterprise as a dollhouse for hours out of boredom/loneliness! What might it do to Rukiya’s energy? And how will becoming said disembodied consciousness impact a nine- or ten-year-old human girl? There are actually a number of great science fiction (horror) stories about this, the premise being that human minds are ill-equipped for that kind of existence. For all M’Benga knows, he could find the cure next week. It was teased in Episode 6. All he needs to do is keep Rukiya safely the transporter—which really shouldn’t be a problem unless she is, in fact, conscious in there. But the writers obviously just wanted to wrap this problematic subplot up and move on.

A grown-up version of Rukiya appears to comfort M’Benga and tell him about her many “adventures,” because it turns out time exists differently for her now even though it’s been ~30 seconds of real time…? It cheapens the scene before and makes me feel belittled as a viewer. I’m okay with feeling uneasy about M’Benga’s choice! I’m not okay with being cajoled into thinking that it was the correct choice. When Kirk let Edith Keeler die, her ghost didn’t reappear to assure him that she understood why he had to! He—and by extension, the audience—just had to live with it.

“She’s safe.” He doesn’t and can’t know that for certain. He let an alien consciousness he neither studied/analyzed nor communicated directly with spirit his daughter away after two minutes of deliberation! Anything could be happening to her out there. Though, to be totally fair, she’s not going to die, so…there’s that?

So yes: this episode is messy. I rewatched it after seeing the ending and reading a lot of reviews/commentary and actually revised this liveblog. It’s not as bad as I initially thought! However, I’ve come to think that the Rukiya subplot itself was a poor choice, one full of troubling implications, dubious decision-making, and questionable ethics. I understand why the writers scrambled to get rid of it. And conveptually, this episode wasn’t even a bad send-off for Rukiya! The execution was just lacking. It could’ve been so much more.

But hey…at least we got La’an’s princess dress, Uhura’s evil queen ensemble, and Spock in that wig.

The Good: Gorgeous costumes—the actress playing Rukiya was a delight; I’ll miss her—Spock in general—some very funny lines/delivery—Christina Chong gets to act!

The Bad: The writing, pacing, set design, and some of the acting was all pretty clumsy—for an episode that turned so heavy, the campy fairy tale stuff was too light and took up too much time. Too much of Ortegas and Pike; not enough of La’an and Spock. (I think there’s too much Ortegas on the show, period. She just doesn’t work for me. No judgment towards other people who may feel differently.) Some truly WTF parenting choices made by M’Benga—huge unresolved questions/plot holes by the end.

But the beauty of SNW returning to Trek’s episodic roots is that it’s a standalone episode. Hoping for better (and more Spockstine!) in the next installment.

[wanderer-on-the-steppe]

Katarzyna Simcha notes? 💕

Thank you! :)

This is really just some notes so far, though at least the basics of the plot are more or less thought out.

It’s about a Jewish teenager (grown up as Rifka, but very much preferring Simcha now) trying to become a Cossack. Partly because he has a somewhat tumultuous temperament, so Cossack life (or what he imagines of it) appeals to him, partly because he’s rebelling against his family and community (who are haunted by a whole lot of trauma because of Cossacks, and he doesn’t have the empathy and life experience yet to understand it, it just feels stifling to him, and they don’t have the ability to react to a youth like him without making the estrangement worse), and then… there’s Katarzyna. Who once was called Beyle. And they had been so very close, before she left and converted for the sake of that insufferably smug Polish nobleman…

Will anyone believe me I did not intentionally make the character constellation look like Jurko, Helena, and Jan? :D Nevertheless, since I realized how much it looks like them, I’ve been thinking: Why not emphasise it even more and make Bohun (the historical person in that case, of course) Simcha’s personal role model whom he admires since he heard songs about him in the market place?

Also – because it’s one of my stories ;) – the attempt to disguise as some (non-Jewish) street urchin and join the Cossacks goes really wrong really quickly, he gets suspected of being a spy, and the only thing he comes up with to save himself is to insist that he could be a spy – but for them, and he demands to be taken to the hetman himself to make him an offer…

(As one can imagine, he’ll be taken to the polkovnyk at the most, but as he’s a master of bragging and romantic delusions – if not necessarily of spying… – he’ll stubbornly claim it was the hetman!)

“Don’t run away to the steppe... Don’t run away to the steppe... There were three places that Rifka didn’t belong: in the rebbe’s house, together with the other boys (though, upon considering the cramming, it wasn’t that much of a loss…), in the steppe – and in the church of the Christians, with Katarzyna, for taking their marriage vows.

The first one could be redressed by calling oneself Simcha and putting on trousers and a hat. The other two, however… these needed more skill. One had to steal a horse and also some sort of knife. And a name that made one’s own grandparents shiver with fear. Bohdan, for example. Bohdan was terrifying – Bohdan was great.”

Maybe that quote is a good example of why I don’t know if this ever gets written, and if so, if I'll dare post it. It’s Simcha, of course, who talks about his religion and his family like that – because he’s a rebellious teenager, and angry, and quick-tempered, everything he wants in life seems out of reach. But me writing it? Could end just about as disastrously as Simcha’s plan to convince Katarzyna to run away with him by appearing at her door as a dashing Cossack amidst a full-fledged raid... (But, just like Simcha, I also keep thinking that it might be a good plan, so the idea keeps living in my head, and that document on my computer.)

By the way: The most interesting bit of information I’ve learned since this idea first came up is that there seem to have been some Cossacks who were hired as guards by Jewish communities to protect them against the not so honourable among their comrades. And I can’t stop thinking: Simcha – if only you were someone to make good choices in life, this would have been the way to go. But alas, Simcha doesn’t make good choices (and he probably doesn't even know that this kind of arrangement exists somewhere), and if he did, the whole plot wouldn’t work. But… it’s really the way my young wannabe-Bohun should have joined the Cossacks.

[tawus]

Hey Tawus :) I hope you're doing okay and staying safe <3 I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind

What are your thoughts on unsealed Gojo? A lot of people have pointed out that he is dressed exactly like Toji and even has the same dead look in his eyes in that one panel but nobody seems to think too much of it. Do you think it has any significance?

Do you ship anyone from JJK? Or not necessarily ship in a romantic way, just really like the dynamic between two characters?

Would you write fics about other JJK characters Toji? Maybe when season 2 drops?

Would you consider making a short post here on Tumblr about your Gojo headcanons? You know, just listing them with bullet points, collecting them in one place. I really like your interpretation of Gojo's character and it genuinely feels like you have him & his quirks figured out. (Tbh if you said you knew this man personally, I would fully believe you lol) So yeah, I think many of us would enjoy reading your headcanons

Hello my dear! Thank you for sending this, it’s been ages since you did 😔 I’m going through some shit these days hence the delay (and hence also no new written content from me for about 2 months now, yikes). But asks like these are a good pick-me-up, so thank you again 🥰

⚠️ JJK manga spoilers below the cut ⚠️

1. Tbh I’ve been annoyed by Gojo’s apparent “Tojification”. It seemed to me like Gege picked the easiest outfit to draw and went with it. Since the beginning I’ve viewed Toji as one of the underdog characters of JJK which are used more like props for the plot, rather than given sufficient spotlight and respect. Not to mention, those who read the manga will know how things ended with Toji, so excuse me if I feel extra protective of him. Which is why Gojo’s Tojification – especially when he still has a huge and serious reckoning to do with Megumi in regards to what he did to his father, deserved or undeserved – has been irking me. The tiny panel in ch 224 where annoyed Toji goes “What a copycat” indicates that Gege is doing this stuff intentionally, but I still don’t think it’s anything more than a gag. If it is, I’m curious to see what it is.

2. Now that you mentioned it, I actually don’t have any ships in JJK wow! But what Yuuji and Megumi have is special. Reminds me a bit of Luffy and Zoro: that same absolute unspoken trust and having each other’s back at all times. Plus, Zoro also has a harder, inaccessible personality, whereas Luffy is goofy and optimistic – for sure reminds of the two JJK boys.

3. Omg you a Toji fan too, HELL YEAH! I have 2 Toji fic ideas: one is a one-shot, another is a longfic. I really want to see Toji animated first, as you suggested, since I want to capture his mannerisms, his voice, his cadence, his emotions, everything about him as perfectly as possible! I can’t wait to see him on-screen 🤩

Other characters I’m captivated by are Yuuta (tho not a huge fan of his cursed technique being Copy...), Sukuna and Kashimo (oh btw, I'm 99.9% sure Kashimo is inspired by OPM's Garou...).

4. This is a super anticlimactic answer but could you please narrow it down for me, i.e. you would like Gojo headcanons regarding what sphere? I only ask because I work well with specification, if I know which direction I’m going I’ll produce my best work. And also thank you very much!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Insanely happy to hear my rendition of Gojo sounds right to you! No higher praise for fanfiction 😘

[khalixvitae]

urngh... (i flop onto your doorstep like a dying fish) please.... do you want to brainstorm for that vil fic of yours with the gay people in your phone im so sane about vil...

Hi anon! Sure thing, I’m still trying to nail down a few major bits of the plot line but I’m willing to share what I have!

To begin with, I think I want to make the setting somewhere very innocuous. A book shop, a cafe, something completely mundane and away from NRC. The basic premise is that Vil is going to this off campus hole in the wall destination to read/annotate scripts for an upcoming role. The reader is an employee of whatever business he’s started to frequent! Kind of tropey, I know, but if it ain’t broke, yk? But I’m trying to get it. A little off the rails.

The idea is that the reader basically just. Ignores who he is. He’s a customer, after all. I’m leaning into the idea of them being a bookseller more than anything else- the idea that they could want to provide him with any additional literature related to whatever role he’s playing/essentially help him hone his craft feels important. This is another one of those situations where my own life events may seep through as well- the idea that maybe the bookseller doesn’t really know what they’re doing with their life. Maybe they’re trying to earn enough money for a graduate level degree program? Something along those lines, like they have aspirations but don’t know how to achieve them.

Vil intends on keeping their interactions minimal and very professional- he refuses anything that he could consider preferential treatment until he sees the reader offering other people similar services. Then he has a moment of oh, they’re just kind. The reader tends to go above and beyond for customers that need assistance, or even for those that they just think could benefit from more information. Then Vil is a little less hesitant. Still professional, but maybe he’ll accept their offer to keep the shop open a little longer when he’s in the middle of a reading, or he’ll agree to have a cup of tea since they’re already making some. Naturally they get to talking. And yea, that’s Kind of the broader premise! I’m trying to nail down the role he’s playing. The one idea I’ve got floating around is kind of a weird one, but I recently reread Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and I’m spitballing Vil participating in a retelling of the story. Not as Dr. Frankenstein, but as the monster. Hear me out: in the book, he’s described as being intentionally crafted with beautiful features- which is what makes him all the more haunting to look at. He basically triggers the uncanny valley effect. Something incredibly beautiful and human and yet distinctly wrong. And the original monster is really an emotional and intelligent creature that seeks to be loved - only after repeated abuses does it actually become “evil”. It’s a story where the protagonist (Dr. Frankenstein himself) is frankly far more sinister than its antagonist. He plays god, creating a creature solely because he wants to know if he can. Then once he does, he just abandons it because he’s horrified at his own creation. Neither the monster nor the doctor are without their faults, and it’s one of those things where the reader is meant to be conflicted on who to root for. Anyway, I think a retelling that’s more sympathetic towards the monster (I.e., that characterizes it was Shelley did in the source material) would catch Vil’s interest. Yeah he’d be an antagonist, but he’d be a heart wrenching figure meant to conflict the audience and their perceptions of both him and the character he’s playing. And it would be a challenge for Vil, something he doesn’t seem to get often. It’s fundamentally different from any other role he’s played that we know of, and to play a creature so beautiful that it drifts into the territory of abominable? WHEWWWWW. idk I think. He’d be intrigued when it’s pitched at him and he’d accept this get out of type casting free card before his reps could shoot down the offer. Anywho! I would love feedback or other ideas if you or anyone else have any to bounce around !!!

[17yearslatewithlattes]

Golly gee gosh, Supernatural is deep in moral waters it isn’t even a little equipped to navigate. I mean I knew that was coming, but I didn’t expect it to get *quite* this muddy *quite* this soon. So far we’ve got:

So killing monsters is ALWAYS good and killing people is ALWAYS bad. Okay that’s straightforward enough. So there’s got to be some fundamental divide between ‘human’ and ‘monster’? Well at first it seems like in this universe maybe monsters are just pure instinctual evil and humans are … at the least more complex than that. That’s somehow oddly vague and oddly black and white at the same time, but sure if that’s just how the world of the show works I can buy into it for plot reasons. Yeah the wedigo (episode 2!!) is a slight gray area because it used to be human so apparently you can cross over from human to monster at which killing you is morally uncomplicated? But apparently they get superpowers when they go proper dark side to save hunters the moral calculus so … that’s a helpful indicator I guess. Anyway most of the monsters in these early eps are ghosts (and that’s a whole other Thing), or demons which are generally conceived as just embodiments of evil, I’m sure next time there’s a monster proper it’ll be more clear cut than the wendi—I’m sorry did the shifter literally just say they’re the child of human parents with an extreme mutation? So like. a human? Who other humans abused because … idk they thought they were ugly or something? Look maybe maybe I’m missing something here but I’m just getting ‘abused human with superpowers which they choose to use for evil’. So you consider the ghosts and demons then layer the shifter over the wedigo take the median and you get … supernatural/incorporeal being OR human using superpowers for evil = monster?

Okay I have questions would a human harnessing all their abilities which simply don’t happen to extend beyond your average human powers also be a monster? NO says 1x12 Faith even if they are intentionally harnessing another supernatural being’s powers for evil repeatedly and regularly, killing them would make you just as bad as they are.

In most ways Max falls into the pattern, complicating it by being right on the edge. He has the superpowers! Doing pretty bad things! But is he fully monster yet? I think the episode argues that this wasn't clear so it was right for Sam to try and help him, but it turned out he was already too far gone. Still, he is an abused kid, and having Sam and Dean kill an abused kid would be a Lot. So he's just. Handily swept out of life without them making any choices.

So are all human superpowers evil? No no we’ve got good psychics that seems completely uncomplicated as long as they’re not doing evil with it. And Sam has telekinesis?!!! Oh but wait if I’ve got the future plot right the show decides it’s evil telekinesis and having it doesn’t make you evil but using it will with time. Will it turn you into a monster? I need more info on that but my impression is show says yes (and fans say no but we’re talking show logic right now). Using psychic powers is fine though!

Okay okay. *rubs exhausted eyes*. We’ll leave the possibility of non-evil superpowers aside from being psychic to the side for now. We're still left with: no level of evil on it’s own makes a human a monster (read: morally acceptable to murder) BUT human evil + superpowers is a monster (lose 0 sleep over murdering these!).

In conclusion: WHAT

[eldal0te]

I personally love the theory that Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are Aule and Yavanna, but only as a theory.

Now, personal headcanon is that Tom Bombadil is an Ainu of different category than Valar or Maiar, not directly affiliated with any of them. He says of himself:

"Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from Outside."

which I like to interpret as him being sent to Arda slightly before others (perhaps as an experiment to see how it goes). The Valar and Maiar came just after, but since Tom Bombadil did not come with them, he does not get to share a name with them . Not ALL Ainur are Valar or Maiar, the ones that did not enter the world with them are not given any names. This does not, however, mean that the names for them could not exist. If an Ainu entered Ea separately from the rest and was not a Vala (see Tulkas), I fully believe, that they would be considered their own kind, and since I believe Tom Bombadil entered the world alone - Tom Bombadil is Tom Bombadil, that’s just what he is.

Now, the arguments why I think Tom Bombadil is NOT Iluvatar:

At the Council of Elrond, concerning the idea of sending the ring to Tom Bombadil:

"But in any case," said Glorfindel, "to send the Ring to him would only postpone the day of evil. He is far away. We could not now take it back to him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy. And even if we could, soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would bend all his power towards it. Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone? I think not. I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come."

"I know little of Iarwain save the name," said Galdor; "but Glorfindel, I think, is right. Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself.”

As you can see, elves do not think that Bombadil alone would win the fight with Sauron, and even if, possibly, they are not fully aware what he is, the elves must have much better idea than we do. So no, they clearly don’t think that he is Eru (they do not think that he is omnipotent).

"But within those bounds nothing seems to dismay him," said Erestor. "Would he not take the Ring and keep it there, for ever harmless?"

"No," said Gandalf, "not willingly. He might do so, if all the free folk of the world begged him, but he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian; and that alone is answer enough."

According to Gandalf, Tom Bombadil would not understand the meaning of ring, which clearly does not fit the description of Iluvatar, whom Tolkien considered to be omnipresent and omniscient. Moreover, Gandalf (who must have some idea about what Bombadil is, in order to predict his behavior) suggest that he may be forgetful and reckless, which again does not really fit the description of omniscient being.

Somehow, I also have a hard time imagining Tolkien, a very Christian guy, giving Iluvatar (who is personification of a god) a wife.

(Also Tolkien, for all his refusals to elaborate no the topic of Tom Bombadil, clearly states that he is NOT meant to be god. But that is an information coming from outside material, rather that LotR itself, so I get why some might disregard it)

Also, “A plot device Jirt would really appreciate you didn’t think to hard about” is a peak comedy, mostly because that is pretty much exactly what Tolkien stated multiple times:

“I don’t think Tom needs philosophizing about, and is not improved by it.”

“And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).”

“Tom Bombadil is not an important person – to the narrative. I suppose he has some importance as a ‘comment’.” (Although Tolkien later states that he would not have left him in if he did not have some kind of function)

(All the quotes from “The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”)

So I feel like Jirt would be laughing at us all for overthinking this, even though he made Tom Bombadil purposely in a way that makes the reader wonder about him, without any chance to come up with any sensible conclusion.

Tolkien did have some idea about what Bombadil is (even though it is possible that he very deliberately did not even expand on it himself), but it was probably incredibly far from anything we could ever come up with.

(I KNOW I’m contradicting myself a bit in all of this, but I was researching Bombadil while writing and managed to change my own view of this character at least twice in the process. Yes I’m overthinking him but it’s just one of those huge Tolkien mysteries that I just can’t stop thinking about. Sorry for the rant XD)

[pixies-and-poets]

Some thoughts on the bunny game

Ok, now that I’ve beaten Sparks of Hope, I have some major feelings about the Spark Hunters and their relationship to Cursa that I think tie into some of the themes of the game. I haven’t unlocked every single memory, so this is subject to change maybe as I think about it more, but I wanted to get my initial thoughts out.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN MARIO + RABBIDS: SPARKS OF HOPE

So it becomes obvious from the memories you unlock as you play through the game, and is laid out explicitly for you at the end, that the Spark Hunters were not cool pre-existing rabbids that Cursa recruited, but rather she created them. (Side note, I’ll use both she and it for Cursa, as the game does - using she/her for Cursa even after she no longer contains Rosalina.) It also seems they were not even “blank slate” rabbids who got fused with other things and therefore changed their form, similar to what Spawny can do (and how the Hero Rabbids were created), but rather created from scratch fusing Cursa’s knowledge of rabbid dna with other objects/elements.

For a split second I had the thought, well, Cursa is like their mother and they’re like sisters, right? But I immediately shot that down - not only because of the wrench that would throw in the fact that Edge and Midnite CLEARLY have something different going on, but the game itself is very explicit that they are NOT family, they do NOT view each other that way, they were not created that way. They were crafted from a rabbidy essence and other unrelated elements and Cursa’s relationship to them is as a cruel god, an uncaring creator, not a mother.

Cursa did not create them with any sense of a familial relationship, either to herself or to each other. Here’s some examples of how they speak of each other:

1. Midnite [to Edge]: After all, WE were friends once. Perhaps we still are?

2. Edge: I figure with Cursa gone, my “ol’ pals” will find themselves a new profession.

So why is this important? I think this tells us something crucial about Cursa/the Megabug and why it’s a villain. This being has now possessed both Bowser and Rosalina, two characters who, for all their differences, have one extremely big thing in common: they are well-known for their parental love; Bowser to his son (and this isn’t even a random thing to mention, as the relationship between Bowser and Junior is core to the first game’s plot) and Rosalina to her adopted Luma children.

Cursa had enough of an impression of Bowser to recreate him and his attack patterns; she arguably even adopted a sense of gender from Rosalina. It’s clear Cursa/the Megabug can assimilate and recreate parts of the personality of people she controls, so why not absorb the positive aspect of being a parental figure?

Is it because she simply couldn’t? I don’t think so. A huge theme of this game is Jeanie gaining further sentience and emotion by learning from the people around her, a journey which Beep-0 has already gone on. The Megabug also apparently accrued more sentience as it traveled across the galaxy. So if these robots could learn concepts like love and concern for the people around them, surely the Megabug could. I think it more likely that Cursa intentionally chooses not to adopt these elements, filtering them out and seeing them as weak - a liability. It’s for this reason that she is such a terrifying force.

While the Heroes are building a found family with each other, Cursa does not have a sense of love, familial or otherwise. She chooses to discard such things, with no affection for her own creations. Consider how she punishes Bedrock and Midnite by actually hurting them when they have failed her. They are AFRAID of her.

“Cursa gave me an Edge, with just enough free will to lead - to think. That edge let me see Cursa for what it is - a black hole of greed leading to a bottomless pit of misery. Bedrock, Midnite, Daphne - I tried to turn them to the light, instead they turned on me.”

Keeping with the aforementioned thesis that anyone can learn kindness unless you choose not to, I believe that the Spark Hunters began to feel things for each other - companionship, friendship, love - which their own creator could not feel for them. At the very least Edge felt these things, and realized Cursa would never reflect them. No longer wanting to serve a being who was set on cruelty and destruction, not just to Sparks and the wider galaxy but even towards her own creations - people who Edge loved - she left in the hopes she could eventually convince her friends to do the same, showing them there was another way, a better way.

...So yeah, good game. I feel things about rabbids